Pasco Schools Set to Finalize $2.28 Billion Budget and Lower Tax Rate Tuesday

Pasco County's school tax bill is about to get official. The Pasco County School Board meets Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. for the final public hearing on the 2026-27 budget, where members are expected to adopt a $2,284,173,662 spending plan and a tax rate of 6.184 mills, roughly $29 lower per year for the owner of a $350,000 home than what they paid last year.

The board unanimously approved that millage rate and budget on a tentative basis July 29. Tuesday's vote makes it final. It also sets the school portion of every Pasco property owner's tax bill for the year ahead.

Superintendent Kevin Legg told the board the total budget is actually about $21.6 million, or 0.9%, smaller than last year's, even though the overall dollar figure sounds larger than most households deal with day to day. It breaks down into a general operating budget of roughly $1.154 billion, the money that pays teachers, buys supplies and keeps schools running day to day, and a capital budget of $602 million for construction, renovations and major repairs.

What a Pasco homeowner actually pays

For a homeowner with a $350,000 house who claims the standard $25,000 homestead exemption, the estimated school tax bill under the new rate comes to $2,010. That is about $29 less than last year, according to figures Legg presented to the board.

The rate itself is not something the school board can move much on its own. State law dictates most of it, leaving local board members with limited room to raise or lower what residents pay for schools regardless of enrollment growth or building needs.

Where the money goes, and where it doesn't stay

Board member Alison Harding has pointed out that 90.7% of the general fund goes directly to school-level services, the classrooms, staff and programs that touch students every day. But a chunk of the budget never really belongs to Pasco's traditional public schools at all.

Harding has flagged that state-directed "pass-through" dollars, money earmarked for scholarships that follow students to private schools and for charter school allocations, flow through the district's books without funding traditional public school operations. That limits how much flexibility the board actually has when it writes the budget, even as the total dollar figure looks enormous on paper.

District leaders have said the same thing in past years: the budget is a living document. Once Tuesday's vote is final, the district certifies the millage to the Pasco County Property Appraiser, which triggers the tax notices that show up in mailboxes later in the fall. Amendments can still follow throughout the year as enrollment numbers, state allocations and construction costs shift.

Anyone who wants to weigh in before the vote can attend Tuesday's meeting in person or watch it through the district's board meeting channels. The hearing is open to public comment before the board takes its final vote.

Want more on how this affects your neighborhood? Visit Pasco County Community Website for ongoing coverage, follow us on Facebook for updates, and join the conversation in our Community Forum to share your thoughts on the new tax rate. For more stories on schools and district decisions, check out our education coverage and our government and politics section.