Board hears 2025–26 general fund budget; staff directed to trim items and return with revisions

Newberry County district staff presented updated revenue estimates and a proposed 2025–26 general fund budget at a public hearing and asked the board for guidance on several open items.

Mr. Presley, a district staff member presenting the budget, told trustees the updated revenue estimate totals $75,134,071 while proposed expenditures total $75,701,668, leaving a gap of $567,597. He said projected local current taxes for operations are $20,257,686 (an increase of $757,686), delinquent taxes $600,000 (a $50,000 reduction), fee‑in‑lieu $2,200,000, and interest income $1,000,000 (down $200,000). State aid to classrooms (combining state general and EIA amounts) was reported at $32,165,462, for total state projections of $50,477,854.

Staff outlined several mandated and recommended expenditures: a line showing $1,313,176 to cover a $1,500 increase applied as described to the state minimum salary schedule for certified (teacher) positions; an estimated $400,000 increase for health insurance; a proposed 10% increase for classified staff (shown as $996,507) with an alternate 5% option noted; a 2% cost‑of‑living option (with or without steps) for district and school administrators; facility maintenance and technology contract increases (originally estimated higher, reduced provisionally by 50% for discussion).

Board members debated where to find savings and how to deliver pay increases. Several trustees expressed preference for keeping a uniform $1,500 increase for all certified teachers rather than applying it unevenly. Trustees discussed whether to place certain proposed, nonrecurring items on fund-balance authority as one-time payments so they would not recur in future base budgets; one option proposed was to pay a district-office bonus from fund balance rather than roll a recurring salary increase into the base.

Trustees and staff also discussed program decisions that would affect summer school and after‑school programming. Staff said the district reduced proposed after‑school and summer‑school allocations to zero in the draft so the board could consider funding them later via fund‑balance requests with a detailed program and budget.

On facilities and operations, trustees heard that the district currently has one HVAC technician on staff, posted another vacancy, and that a shortage of certified HVAC technicians had increased reliance on contract service work, which raises costs. Staff said they will return with further detail on custodial contract timelines and technology contract increases.

No formal budget adoption occurred at the hearing. Trustees provided direction to administration: identify reductions in the highlighted (yellow) areas on the expenditure summary; present options that balance the budget including a proposal for non‑recurring fund‑balance allocations for selected district office items; and return with a revised budget and assumptions ahead of the formal vote at the next meeting.

The hearing included numerous clarifying questions about millage caps and local autonomy under state law. Staff advised that the South Carolina Code of Laws and Act 388 define millage caps and that the CPI and population factors produced a 3.96% adjustment figure used for local guidance; staff said they did not add any local millage in the revenue estimate. Staff also said they would provide additional reassessment and growth detail when it becomes available.