Summertime brings the budget-setting process to an end for the upcoming school year. In case you missed it…
On June 17, the Board of Education adopted the FY2022 recommended budget in the expenditure amount of $2,4 billion, an increase of 0.4% from the FY2021 Total Budget. With growth in the local property tax digest for the eighth straight year and additional revenue from the state, GCPS was able to balance its budget, provide raises for its employees, and implement several improvement items. (At its July 15 meeting, the Board approved a budget amendment that bumped up the cost-of-living salary increase for all employees paid on the teacher salary scale from $1,000 to $2,000.)
The more robust property tax digest also allowed the district to recommend a lower millage rate than initially planned. In July, Board members approved a decrease in its debt service millage rate from 1.90 to 1.65. The maintenance and operations (M&O) millage rate remains at 19.70 mills. Combined, and as approved, the debt service millage and M&O millage sit at 21.35, a decrease from last year’s rate of 21.60. The lower millage rate of 21.35 mills will support the FY2022 budget, with the decrease in the debt service portion still providing the funds necessary to support the principal interest payments on the district’s long-term bond obligations. The decreased millage rate is expected to reduce property tax bills by about $5 for every $50,000 in home value.