The Gilmer County School System’s fiscal year 2025 budget of $54.9 million was unanimously approved.
It is required by the Georgia Statue and State Broad of Education that the annual budget for the next fiscal year must be prepared by the superintendent of schools and presented to the Gilmer County Board of Education for consideration and adoption prior to the end of the current fiscal year.
Budget preparation got under-way last fall as administrative teams reviewed the needs and changes to initiatives. Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley and (former) chief financial officer Trina Penland (who retired and was replaced by Page Reynolds) met with principals and department heads at this time, and those discussions continued through February.
The system held its initial public budget meeting March 15 as part of the annual board retreat. The tentative budget was unanimously approved for advertisement at the board of education’s June 4 called meeting. The FY25 budget was adopted at the board’s regular meeting June 20.
“The FY25 budget allocates just over $54.9 million in local, state and federal funds to support the operation and mission of our district,” said Ridley. “This includes projected state revenues of approximately $24.7 million, local revenues of approximately $24.5 million and federal grants totaling around $6.3 million.”
The system’s top expenses include instruction ($36.7 million), maintenance and operations ($4.5 million), school administration ($3.4 million), transportation ($3.2 million) and pupil services ($2.2 million).
Compared to FY24, instruction saw one of the biggest increases at 9.1 percent. This was the result of all teachers receiving a $2,500 salary increase. The school board also approved a new supplement for pre-K teachers, an increase in the local supplement from 10 to 12 percent and a 3 percent increase to all other classified salary schedules. School administration expenditures increased from $3.2 million in FY24.
With estimated total expenditures of $54.9 million and estimated total revenues at $51.3 million, the system will experience an excess of expenditures over revenues of $3.6 million. The estimated July 1 beginning general fund balance of $24.8 million has been estimated to decrease to $21.2 million by the end of the period June 30, 2025.
“Our FY25 budget features an intentional budget deficit of $3.6 million dollars,” said Ridley. “This was done in order to provide a level of tax relief for our citizens by accessing our fund balance and incrementally bringing it to a more normalized level over time. This deficit equates to 1.794 mills of value that our locals do not have to pay and provides long-term stability for our millage rate.
“The board and I take our responsibility to our local citizens to be good stewards of their money seriously,” Ridley said. “From 2013 to 2023, we have been able to lower the local mill rate from 17.300 to 9.744, and through responsible financial planning, amassed a very healthy fund balance.
Ridley added, “I am proud to stand behind a budget that responsibly supports the achievement of our students, takes care of our staff, and deals fairly with the taxpayers. I commend the members of our board for continuing their commitment to excellence in financial management.”