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 numbers remain subject to change as the county finalizes data.

May also laid out the budget calendar: UCPS's budget presentation is expected in May; the county manager's recommended budget will be submitted to the clerk before the end of May; the county will hold a public hearing in June and then act on the budget that month.

Union County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Houlihan and CFO Shauna McLamb presented the district's request. McLamb said UCPS is the sixth-largest district in North Carolina, with 40,870 students in 2024-25 and a reported 93.3 percent graduation rate for 2023-24. She said UCPS currently budgets about $149 million in local operating and capital support and requested a combined local operating and capital allocation of about $177 million for 2025-26, an increase of roughly $27.7 million.

"To do that $2,000 increase is a little over $7,600,000," McLamb said, referring to the district's proposal to raise the teacher supplement by $2,000. She said that increase, if funded and if other conditions remain equal, would move Union County toward the top 10 districts in the state on teacher supplements. The district also built assumptions of a 3 percent salary increase and a 5 percent benefits increase in the budget model because state-level salary and benefit guidance was not yet available.

McLamb summarized other local requests: funding for additional substitute teachers tied to expanded parental leave, expansion of a paid internship program to recruit psychologists and other specialists, replacement of aging cafeteria equipment and fleet vehicles, activity-bus and vehicle purchases for transportation, laptop lease renewals for grades 3-5, and a $50,000 band-uniform cycle with Piedmont. She reported operating- and capital-related additional needs of a little over $14 million beyond the base maintenance cost, with the total request rising to the $177 million figure when combined with other items.

Commissioners and school-board members questioned charter-school growth, one-time state allocations and feasibility of certain grants. McLamb said projected charter-school payments to the county would likely be $13.5 million to $14 million next year, and she noted Somerset Prep had pending approvals that could affect enrollment. Board and county members also discussed an $8 million allocation offered by a state representative for an athletic facility (a natatorium). McLamb and others said the district has not accepted that money and that the funds have a specific purpose and a deadline (must be spent by October); members expressed concern that operating and maintenance costs for a pool would be substantial and that land and ongoing costs were unresolved.

Dr. Houlihan highlighted programs funded with one-time aid and their results. He noted a tutoring model and a partnership at Parkwood Middle School with a group he identified as Chancelight, and said an independent UNC interim report documenting results would be finalized soon and shared with both boards. He also thanked the county for funding school safety measures that allowed the district to reach a 1-to-1 ratio of school resource officers to schools.

County Manager Brian Matthews told the boards that organic growth would provide the schools about $8 million in additional operating funds but that the district's total request exceeded that amount by roughly $10 million on the operating side alone. "You show your needs at $18,000,000 above what we normally budget. We've got about $8 [million] that we certainly can allocate towards any additional spending needs that you have," Matthews said.

Several board members urged the county to prioritize teacher supplements and consider phased approaches to implementing raises if the full amount is not possible at the start of the fiscal year. Vice Chair Hounds and other board members said retaining teachers is a top priority given turnover and competition from neighboring states and districts.

The meeting produced no formal appropriations; commissioners and the school board will consider the county manager's recommended budget and the school request as the formal budget cycle proceeds. Procedural items during the meeting included a voice vote to approve the meeting agenda and motions to adjourn both the Board of Education and the Board of County Commissioners at the end of the session.

The county and the school district will reconvene in the budget process later this spring with more complete state guidance and updated revenue figures, and both staffs signaled continued coordination ahead of the public hearing and final votes in June.