TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A multi-million dollar decision for Leon County Schools — and a warning from district leaders about what’s at stake if local funding falls short.
- Leon County School Board unanimously approved it's 2026 budget.
- Budget includes $122 million for capital projects.
- Watch the video below to learn the total budget amount and how the board plans to sustain it moving forward.
Leon County School Board approves $647 million budget amid financial challenges
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Leon County School Board unanimously approved its 2026 budget.
“We are doing all that we can, but we need more money,” Vice Chair Marcus Nicolas said.
I’m Lentheus Chaney in the southwest Tallahassee neighborhood, taking a closer look at what was decided.
At Tuesday’s school board meeting, staff presented budget items and answered questions from board members before a final vote.
The result — a unanimous approval of the 2026 budget — includes a total of $647 million to fund operations, capital projects, and staffing across the district.
The new budget also includes $122 million for capital projects, like gym and cafeteria renovations at Griffin and Nims.
Vice Chair Marcus Nicolas says this year’s half-penny tax tremendously helped the budget and will be crucial to maintain the budget next year.
“We want everybody to support that half the sales tax. We desperately need it because that is the reason why we were able to do what we were able to do with regards to renovations so we need them to renew that half the sales tax in 2026,” Nicolas said.
With federal COVID relief funds coming to an end — and costs like utilities and insurance on the rise — board members say community support will be key to maintaining programs and keeping schools strong.
“At this point, we just need to maintain what we have; we cannot take another hit. We took a $17 million hit this year. We cannot afford to take another $17 million dollar hit,” Nicolas said.
Nicolas says the half-penny tax referendum will go before voters next year.
In southwest Tallahassee, I’m Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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