Savannah-Chatham County Public School System Packet Summary — June 24, 2026
Key Items on the Agenda
The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System Board is scheduled to consider a wide-ranging financial agenda centered on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, a tentative property-tax millage recommendation, major technology and instructional-material contracts, and several consent-agenda financial actions.
The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Jessie Collier Deloach Board Room in the Whitney Administrative Complex.
FY27 Budget Proposes $704.7 Million General Fund
Staff is presenting a Fiscal Year 2027 budget that includes five components:
- General Fund: $704,710,183
- Special Revenue Funds: $99,718,304
- Capital Projects Funds: $181,334,491
- Other Funds: $3,644,083
- G.O. Debt: The recommended adoption lists $0, with debt-service expenditures included in Other Funds.
The proposed General Fund includes $476,520,489 in local revenue, $210,208,374 in state revenue, $800,000 in federal revenue, and $17,181,320 in fund balance to close the gap between projected revenue and expenditures.
The packet describes the $704.7 million General Fund expenditure proposal as approximately 3.3% above the FY26 revised budget as of April 30, 2026. Salaries and benefits account for $593.6 million of proposed FY27 General Fund expenditures.
Employee Compensation and Strategic Investments
The FY27 proposal includes a 2% cost-of-living adjustment, estimated at $8.4 million, along with $8 million for employee step increases. The packet says the combined effect is approximately 4.2%.
Other identified expenditure growth includes:
- $3.5 million for state-mandated literacy coaches.
- $3 million for health insurance, retirement and pension costs.
- $2.7 million for utility cost growth.
- $700,000 for property and casualty insurance cost growth.
- $2 million to move certain formerly grant-funded positions into the General Fund.
- $10.2 million in strategic-plan investments, including school transformation, mental-health program expansion and a data dashboard.
The packet says 34 new literacy-coach positions are tied to state requirements and that SCCPSS expects to carry 37% of the cost because state QBE funding does not cover the full expense.
Millage Rate and Revenue Pressures
Staff Proposes Maintaining 17.331 Mills
Staff recommends a tentative Calendar Year 2026 millage rate of 17.331 mills for maintenance and operations and 0 mill for general-obligation debt, for a combined 17.331 mills. The packet describes this as no increase in the millage rate used for the FY27 budget.
However, the proposed maintenance-and-operations rate is above the rollback rate calculated by the Tax Assessor. The packet states that it therefore must be advertised as a 1.65% tax increase above the rollback millage rate under Georgia law.
The tentative rate is intended to establish the baseline for the statutory millage process. The packet's budget timeline calls for millage hearings on July 8 and final FY27 millage adoption on July 15.
$28.2 Million in Unfavorable Revenue Impacts
The budget presentation identifies approximately $28.2 million in unfavorable FY27 revenue impacts, including:
- $9.3 million associated with slowing tax-digest growth.
- $8.7 million attributed to the HB 782 exemption.
- $4.7 million associated with enrollment loss.
- $3.1 million from expiring or reduced grant funding.
- $1.4 million related to slower QBE per-unit growth.
- $1 million from reductions in payment-in-lieu-of-taxes programs or agreements.
The packet projects $687.5 million in General Fund revenue against $704.7 million in expenditures. Staff proposes using approximately $17.2 million of unassigned fund balance as one-time support for FY27 operations.
The presentation estimates that this use would leave approximately $154.9 million in unassigned fund balance, including about $35.2 million above the Board's minimum reserve level. The FY26 year-end balance remains subject to closeout and audit.
Budget Adoption Would Precede Final Millage Adoption
Because the tax digest was not previously available, staff recommends that the Board consider the FY27 operating budget as an exception to Board Policy DC, Annual Operating Budget. The budget would remain subject to amendments needed after the millage rate is finally adopted.
The packet says the recommended budget is being presented before July 1 so district operations can continue at the start of the new fiscal year.
Major Contracts and Purchases
$2 Million Educational Materials Contract
The Board is scheduled to consider RFP 26-35, which would establish a group of vendors for as-needed purchases of instructional, art, media-center, medical, music/theatre, physical-education/athletics and science materials and supplies.
The Purchasing Department received 40 proposals. Staff recommends awards to multiple responsive vendors at an estimated total cost of $2 million, funded through the General Fund, for an initial one-year period with four additional one-year renewal options.
Eight proposals were deemed non-responsive because their technical proposals were missing significant information required by the solicitation.
$857,355.59 PowerSchool Renewal
Staff recommends renewing the district's PowerSchool subscriptions for $857,355.59. The products support student attendance, grades and demographic records; parent access and online registration; staff professional-learning records; and employment applications.
The packet identifies approximately 34,380 students and 5,700 staff, along with parents and community members, among the stakeholders affected by the system.
$447,119.24 Tyler Technologies Sole-Source Contract
The consent agenda includes a proposed $447,119.24 one-year sole-source contract with Tyler Technologies for application services used by Finance and Human Resources & Talent Management.
The district originally selected Tyler Technologies in 2019 to replace its legacy financial and human-resource management system. The packet describes services spanning accounting, payroll, budgeting, purchasing, recruiting, risk management and related functions.
Consent Agenda Financial Items
$600,000 Charter Schools Facilities Grant
The Georgia Department of Education has awarded Chatham County $600,000 through the FY26 Charter Schools Facilities Grant. Staff requests Board approval to receive the funding for facility rentals and renovations.
The packet allocates six $100,000 amounts among portable leases and repair/maintenance expenses associated with Coastal Empire, Oglethorpe, Tybee, SCA and SKTS ES.
$339,156 COPS Grant Repayment
SCCPSS received a U.S. Department of Justice COPS Hiring Grant in 2023 to fund five additional Board of Education Police Officer positions. According to the packet, some personnel reimbursements were later determined to be ineligible because certain grant requirements had not yet been met.
The district is required to repay $339,156 in previously reimbursed grant funds. Staff proposes an operating transfer from available district funds to make the repayment, restore compliance with grant requirements, preserve the grant award and allow future reimbursement of eligible expenditures.
$400,000 for Emergency Weather Response
Operations recommends transferring $400,000 already budgeted for emergency weather response and natural-disaster support into a committed fund-balance account.
The packet says committing the existing money would keep it available for future emergencies while eliminating the need to budget the same amount again next year, producing a $400,000 FY27 expense-budget reduction.
Amended $500,000 Janitorial Services Award
The Board previously approved RFP 26-42 for as-needed janitorial services on June 3, 2026, with Advanced Building Group as the primary vendor and LTD Construction Management & Services as the secondary vendor.
The June 24 packet contains an amended recommendation that would replace the previously selected secondary vendor with Imagann Facility Support Services, Inc. Advanced Building Group would remain the primary vendor, and the estimated annual cost would remain $500,000.
Other Contract Recommendations
The consent agenda also includes several proposed contract actions:
- Commodity Processing Chicken: A one-year extension with Gold Creek Foods from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, at an estimated annual cost of $320,000.
- Fire Alarm Services: A proposed annual contract with Southeastern Business Machines, Inc. dba Southeastern System Technologies for monitoring, testing, inspection and repairs at an estimated $238,000 annually, with two potential one-year renewals.
- Employee Benefits Broker: An extension with NFP Corporate Services with an estimated $301,269 cost paid directly by benefit providers through policy commissions, with no cost to the district.
- Excess Workers' Compensation: Staff recommends a one-year renewal with Charles Taylor TPA for August 14, 2026, through August 13, 2027, at an estimated $134,557.20.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The central decision point is the relationship between the proposed $704.7 million General Fund budget, the 17.331-mill tentative tax recommendation, and the proposed $17.2 million use of fund balance. The packet presents those elements as a response to slowing revenue growth while maintaining employee compensation, mandated costs and selected strategic investments.
The packet also points toward additional financial changes beyond FY27. Planned work includes a staffing-model assessment, grant-funded position closeouts, additional return-on-investment analysis, school nutrition review and preparation for FY28 reductions. Longer-term possibilities identified in the budget presentation include workforce optimization, school consolidations, transportation optimization, in-source/out-source analysis and a pay-for-performance system.
