Kanawha County Board holds public hearing on preliminary FY 2526 operating budget

The Kanawha County Board of Education held a statutory public hearing to review the school system’s preliminary operating budget for fiscal year 2526, during which staff said the general current expense fund is estimated at $337,769,470 and the special revenue fund at $55,438,395.

Mrs. Meadows, who presented the budget to the board, said the general fund total is “very similar to the total that I gave the board during the initial budget workshop in March,” and that changes since the workshop were driven by final PEIA numbers and actual insurance premium amounts. She told the board the preliminary documents were published for public inspection and the budget was published in the Gazette twice in the previous two weeks.

The budget presentation outlined why the numbers matter to staffing and services: the district’s headcount is down 336 students from last year, which staff said reduced state-aid funding for the equivalent of 32 positions (about 18 professional positions and 14 service positions). Meadows said the district’s middle school consolidations covered those funded-position losses and that any additional staffing needs at the start of the school year would be met from budget carryover.

Meadows said revenue sources include the regular levy, excess levy, state aid, miscellaneous revenues and the beginning fund balance. She cited modest increases in property tax revenue because of higher assessed values, stronger interest earnings on investments and increased Medicaid reimbursement. The presentation noted an approximately $3,000,000 net increase in the overall budget compared with the prior year.

On expenditures, Meadows said the net increase in salaries reflected the final year of legislative requirements for elementary school aides and that a drop in the district’s unfunded retirement liability reduced fringe costs, offset in part by an estimated 14% increase in PDIA. She also said the district received its actual liability amount for a large insurance or retirement-related item, which increased by 32% compared with last year.

The presentation listed planned uses of levy and other funds for the coming year, including $2,700,000 for safety and security, $12,000,000 for roofing and HVAC, and $8,000,000 for extracurricular needs (including pay raises for extracurricular staff and high-school turfing completion, plus initial middle-school baseball and softball field work and rubber surfacing for playgrounds). Staff also noted that assessed property values came in slightly higher than estimated on the ballot, which helped offset rising project costs.

Meadows said the district is planning for a textbook adoption in school year 2627 with the purchase paid in fiscal year 2526 for arts, wellness education and driver’s education textbooks. She added that the special revenue fund — federal, state and restricted grants such as Title I–IV, Perkins and adult education — is expected to remain largely the same and was estimated at $55,438,395, with some allocations not available until July 1 and to be handled through the budget revision process.

The board was reminded that the proposed budget must be entered into the Levus system and submitted electronically to the West Virginia Department of Education; Meadows said the proposed budget will be submitted for adoption consideration pending approval from the state superintendent. She told members the district typically receives official approval from the state superintendent in late June.

Board members asked clarifying questions about carryover and grant closeouts. A board member confirmed that current-year special revenue projects were finished and reimbursed on a reimbursement basis and that final reporting had been submitted to the state. Another board member thanked Meadows and her staff for their work on the lengthy budget process: “we’re very fortunate…she’s really, really good at what she does,” the member said.

The public hearing closed with the board scheduling a meeting Wednesday, May 14, at noon to consider approval of the proposed budget; staff told members the Wednesday meeting will be a call-in meeting and that the public hearing being held now is the statutory public hearing required before adoption. No final adoption vote occurred at the hearing.

A motion to adjourn was made and the meeting was closed.