Horry County superintendent presents 2025–26 budget with $32.6 million gap; board hears details on pay, staffing and capital projects

Superintendent Jones presented a preliminary 2025–26 budget Thursday that projects $678,000,000 in expenditures, $645,400,000 in revenue and a $32,600,000 shortfall staff proposes covering from the district’s fund balance.

Why it matters: the proposal includes changes to teacher pay and step schedules, funding requests for staff and two new elementary schools’ operations, and multi‑year capital allocations. Board members heard figures for pay increases, staffing additions and contingency plans ahead of the superintendent’s formal recommendation in May and a planned final vote in June.

Jones said the proposal’s organizing principle is “Investing in educators is investing in increased student outcomes.” He presented a package that he said would raise a starting teacher salary to $52,015 (which Jones described as a $51,500 base plus a 1% COLA), a step increase for eligible employees, and a total 2% cost‑of‑living adjustment split into 1% in July and 1% in January.

Finance staff outlined the costs behind the proposal. Mr. Gardner said the total compensation and benefits increases in the proposed budget add roughly $27,900,000. He put the cost of a step or longevity increase at about $6,800,000, a proposed baseline teacher‑salary increase at roughly $9,800,000, and additional costs for health insurance and other benefit adjustments totaling several million dollars. Gardner also proposed a 1.6% salary increase for employees not eligible for step increases and a $1,000 supplement for teachers who complete LETRS training.

Board members pressed staff for clarity about the COLA language. Board member Howard Barnard said describing the increase as “2% COLA” was misleading and asked staff to state the timing explicitly, telling the board that employees “are not getting a 2% COLA. They’re getting a 1 and a half percent COLA.” Jones and Gardner acknowledged the need to clarify presentation wording.

Staff listed additional budget drivers: an estimated 500 additional students next year; the opening and operational costs for two new elementary schools (which staff said add about $7,000,000); and staffing adjustments including special education positions and custodians. Gardner said staffing adjustments tied to new students and new schools total roughly $8,400,000. He also listed one‑time expenditures, including modular classroom leases, an AI tool pilot, and continued funding for Care Solace, totaling about $2,200,000 in one‑time requests.

Federal and grant funding: Gardner said the district plans to budget about $70,500,000 in federal funds next year (about 10.4% of the general fund). He noted that USDA school nutrition reimbursements account for a large share of federal receipts. Staff told the board they are monitoring state and federal changes that could affect health‑insurance costs and other assumptions.

Capital and facilities updates: Facilities staff reported progress on the Pine Island and Tin Oaks elementary projects and said final inspections are expected in June. Facilities also are proposing to use roughly $1,700,000 in residual funds from other capital projects to offset design costs for baseball and softball athletic improvements and to request $25,000,000 for construction. Staff said a list of 2025–26 capital projects has been identified but remains contingent on the budget’s final approval.

Staff said they plan to move toward zero‑based budgeting and program evaluation in coming years and to reindex the district salary schedule to better align steps and percent increases.

Next steps: staff will present the superintendent’s comprehensive budget on May 5, the finance committee will review it May 19 and the board has scheduled a public hearing and final vote in June.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of meeting agenda — motion and second recorded; outcome: approved (motion carried). (See actions list below.) - Approval of minutes for March — approved (motion carried). - Appointment of Megan Aker as principal of Ocean Bay Elementary, effective 07/01/2025 — motion moved and seconded; outcome: unanimous approval. - Approval of 2025–26 employment contracts for professional personnel — motion moved and seconded; outcome: unanimous approval. - Approval of national competition funding for Socastee High School (Myrtle Beach High request not approved for federal JROTC change) — motion moved and seconded; outcome: approved. - Consent agenda — motion to approve was made after reconvening; outcome: approved.

The board did not take final budget votes at Thursday’s meeting; staff emphasized the presentation was informational and subject to revision as state and federal guidance arrives.