OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A special meeting of the Marion County Public School Board was held Sept. 9, 2025.
The purpose of the meeting was to hold public hearings on the final millage and budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The School Board voted unanimously 4-0 to adopt the resolution to approve the proposed budget and millage rate.
A number of impassioned people got up and spoke during the public hearing and voiced their concerns and displeasure regarding what they thought were issues that needed to be addressed within the school district. The increase in property taxes was also a topic brought before the board.
The total millage that was levied was greater than the rolled back rate of 5.64%. The required local effort millage rate was greater than the rolled back by 5.59%.
Each school board participating in the state allocation of funds for the current operation of schools, must levy the millage set for its required local effort from property taxes as a result of work sessions held by the Marion County Public School Board, since the adoption of the tentative budget of $1,285,332,143 on July 29, 2025.
The budget is substantial and complex. Florida remains near the bottom in salaries, and nearly 70% of the Marion County Public School District’s budget goes toward salaries and benefits and is still nowhere close to paying teachers and everyone else in the school district what they truly deserve, said Nancy Thrower, MCPS board member District no. 4, noting that everyone sitting behind the dais is a taxpayer.
“I’ll just say for myself, I’m not happy about this, there’s a lot I agree with, with what I just heard (meaning the comments during the public hearing), but my conundrum is making sure we stay competitive wage-wise, and be able to still pay our bills, have healthy reserves and keep everything rolling,” said Thrower, who acknowledged the school board needs to have conversations a lot earlier with the community on how the budget process impacts the community.
Dana Cauthen, Citra, Fla, was among those who spoke during the special meeting’s public hearing.
“I know that everyone is saying that our population is increasing, the student population is increasing,” said Cauthen. “It is increasing, but it’s nowhere near the increase that the actual population has increased.”
She went onto say that the numbers in the school system have declined, with many of the students who would normally attend public schools are now enrolled in the private school system, which presents a different challenge of being able to get into one the private schools within the community. Teacher shortages, and the changes of teachers in classrooms in the Marion County Public School system are a major concern.
There is value in the public school system, but it isn’t sustainable to keep asking the taxpayers for more money when the product is failing the students, said Cauthen.
‘They’re going there because the public school system isn’t being maintained, and at the same time you’re asking taxpayers repeatedly more and more for a declining product,” said Cauthen. “I’m very passionate about my child’s education. My children go to a private school, but I can also tell you, what is going on at their public school at every grade level because I want desperately to put them in one, but I won’t sacrifice their education to do so.”
