Monroe County School Board members approved a $320.65 million budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year during a Sept. 9 meeting in Marathon.
The total combined millage rate for the school district’s upcoming fiscal year is 2.9470, or $294.70 per $100,000 of assessed property value. The approved millage rate is a 2.9% increase from last year.
Overall, the spending plan approved unanimously is an increase of $13.28 million from the previous fiscal year. The general fund, which supports the district’s daily operations, totals $172.39 million. Capital projects make up $86.90 million, or 27.1% of the budget. Remaining funds go to internal services, debt service, special revenue, food service and trust and agency.
A final spending plan presentation by Charlene White, executive director of finance, was part of a multistep budget process that allows for analysis by board members and communication with the public.
The district’s reserve, which totals $9.6 million, is intended to help recover from a hurricane or other disaster.
Under a $3.77 million budget line item labeled safety and security, board member John Dick objected to payment for sheriff’s deputies working after-school events being rolled into the budgets of individual schools. He made the point that when the voters were asked to approve a separate millage for safety and security it was to be separate and transparent. He argued that safety and security funds should be rigorously separated from the district general funds.
The staff argued that deputies for extracurricular activities are in a different non-instructional category.
The board also reviewed the 2025-26 student progression plan. This is being revised to include legislative mandates like the restricted use of wireless devices. The revised plan also tries to boost academic integrity while dealing with plagiarism. There is clarification about the release of high school students from school and certain requirements for graduation to include taking a personal finance course.
Board member Sue Woltanski asked about standardized testing and pointed out that students would have a small reduction in the instructional time dedicated to standardized testing.
The public comment session brought out two speakers asking for improvements at the Marathon High baseball diamond. Former Marathon Mayor Luis Gonzalez, representing the Middle Keys Booster Club, detailed how a 2024 district playoff game had to be called for flooding on the field. He stated that a committee developed a plan for the field that hasn’t had any improvements in eight years. The committee presented the board with a brochure and access to a slide show describing the suggested plan. Items include improved seating for fans, a usable press box and much improved drainage with artificial turf. Five baseball and softball teams use the same field. James Simcic, a little league coach, followed Gonzalez to echo his request.
Improvements like these would be part of a capital outlay budget plan that will be approved later this year.
In other matters, the school district was recognized as an Ocean Guardian District. Four schools in the district have had five or more years as ocean guardian schools. This award is a combined recognition from United Way and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
In the program, K-12 students create hands-on projects that improve the health of nearshore waters and the ocean. The district had to commit to a multiyear program that includes projects across the district and lesson plans aimed at environmental literacy. The Monroe County projects focused on stormwater runoff and pollution. Students designed rainwater filtration gardens and used native plants in swales to guide and purify water before it hits the beaches and reefs.
Overall, there are eight schools in Monroe County in the program, including the Academy at Ocean Reef and the Montessori Children’s School.
The board also gave out several Great Educational Moments (GEM) awards. Caden Pitcher, a junior at Marathon High School, received a GEM award for achieving a perfect score on the math SAT and for his leadership and service. Marathon High School students Lillian Wiley and Cindy Augustin were recognized for their work on the Special Olympics Youth Activation Committee. Stanley Switlik fourth-grade student Jadeyn Holmes was recognized for running her highly-successful lemonade stand supporting the local SPCA.
Board member Yvette Mira-Talbott commended Plantation Key School and Coral Shores High School for honoring the veterans who went to Washington, D.C. with Honor Flight South Florida.
— This story was updated to reflect that property tax funds collected under the “Public Schools by State Law” do stay within Monroe County and do not go elsewhere. The previous version incorrectly stated that property tax funds collected under the heading “Public Schools by State Law” left the county.
