It’s budget season for the Baldwin County School Board, and a first look at the Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal was introduced during the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday.
The school board is actually aiming to reduce its total spending by more than $2.5 million during the next school year. The proposed FY27 budget is $56.49 million, which compares to $58.99 million for the current fiscal year.
The school board is proposing a 12.04 millage rate, which is the same as its current millage rate.
This compares to 12.4 in 2025, 14.58 in 2024, 14.44 in 2023 and 15.29 in 2022.
Keep in mind, however, a mill is worth much more than it once was in Baldwin County. In 2022, for example, one mill equalled $1.09 million in property tax funding for the Board of Education.
Nowadays, it’s above $1.6 million, which is a reflection of soaring property values and soaring valuations from the Baldwin County Board of Tax Assessors.
Part of the reduced spending in FY27 is based on reduced funding from the state government, which bases its funding formula on student enrollment. Enrollment in the Baldwin County School District continues to shrink. The Georgia Department of Education FTE “headcount” for March 2026 placed the BCSD’s student enrollment at 4,249. This compares to 4,451 in March 2025 and 4,572 in March 2024.
The BCSD’s enrollment first dipped below 5,000 in 2020. The data goes back to 1994, a time when the enrollment was 6,491. In other words, the number of students in the Baldwin County School District has decreased by more than one-third in the last 22 years.
The state government typically funds around 55 percent of the BCSD’s budget, while around 40 percent comes from local property taxes.
Eighty-one percent of the district’s budget “is personnel and benefits,” according to Katrina London, the BCSD’s chief financial officer.
Included in the current fiscal year budget for “personnel and benefits” are $8.9 million for health insurance, $5.9 million for “retirement contributions,” as well as $2 million for federal FICA contributions. All are required by law.
A series of budget workshops and public hearings will be held in late May and early June.
“We will continue to analyze the data to ensure a strong return on investment for everything we do,” said Superintendent Kristina Brooks. “Supporting our children as they grow into contributing citizens and making Baldwin County a premier community will remain our focus while we become strong stewards of our tax dollars.”