Union County officials preview 2026 budget; schools request $27.7 million more, cite teacher pay and staffing needs

Union County budget staff and school leaders met April 10 for a joint presentation on the countyand school budgets ahead of the formal budget cycle, with county officials describing revenue projections and school officials asking the county to consider a $27.7 million increase in local operating and capital support for fiscal 2025-26.

The meeting opened with Jason May, director of budget and grants management for Union County, outlining the county's process for forecasting two major revenue streams: ad valorem (property) taxes and sales taxes. "My name is Jason May. I'm the director of budget and grants management for the county," May said. He told commissioners his office applies an average organic growth rate to the tax base in revaluation years; the office is currently using an approximate 4 percent organic-growth assumption to calculate the revenue-neutral tax rate.

May said the 4 percent tax-base growth projection yields roughly $8.8 million in additional education-fund revenue split between Union County Public Schools and local charter schools, and he said South Piedmont Community College would receive about $229,000. He emphasized that sales-tax forecasting is more volatile and depends on consumer behavior: "Sales tax growth is far and away the most difficult revenue stream to be able to project," he said. May said the county is projecting sales-tax growth near 4 percent and that the same 4 percent assumption provides the education debt fund an increase he cited as $904,760, but he cautioned all…