Orange County Board approves $4.1 million request, votes to send budget ask to county commissioners

The Orange County Board of Education on April 7 approved its fiscal-year 2025–26 operating budget request, asking county commissioners for $4.1 million to cover a projected 3% legislative salary increase, benefit cost growth and proposed pay supplements.

The board’s budget presentation said the district’s projected average daily membership (ADM) for next year is 6,908 students — the enrollment number used to determine state funding — and that a $1.8 million continuation request would cover a 3% salary increase, retirement and health insurance increases and higher non-salary costs. Expansion requests included increases to certified teacher supplements, a raise for the lowest-band classified employees and a bus-driver hourly pay increase; those expansion items total $2.3 million, yielding a combined $4.1 million request to the county.

The budget presentation was led by Ms. Rhonda Rath (staff member, budget presenter). Rath said the district expects to be able to restore some fund balance after the fiscal-year 2025 audit and reiterated a target fund-balance level of $5,500,000, which she described as roughly 10–12% of the local operating budget to maintain cash flow if other funds are delayed.

Board members asked staff questions about inflation and potential tariff impacts on material and fuel costs. “The short answer is yes,” Rath said when asked whether material and fuel purchases could be affected; she added the district would need to adjust to market changes. Board members discussed that some state contracts lock prices for certain technology purchases but that other supply costs remain volatile.

Several public commenters urged the board to prioritize teachers and to expand school-based mental-health and substance-use supports. Guyon Chambliss, a community speaker, asked the board to consider more early interventions for students involved with the juvenile-justice system; Melanie Lasky, a North Carolina certified alcohol and drug counselor and Orange High School employee, and Vidya Kasturi, an Orange High School senior and lead ADAPT intern, described a recently launched school pilot for substance-use intervention and asked the board to consider ways to sustain and expand it.

Board members and the superintendent said there are funding avenues beyond the county request that could support school-level pilots. Board member remarks and staff answers pointed to at-risk state funds, federal grants and central-office allocations as possible sources to scale promising programs without waiting for a county appropriation. The district’s reported federal funding for the coming year is approximately $6,600,000.

Following discussion, a motion to approve the budget request for submission to county commissioners carried; the board chair called for the vote and members responded in the affirmative.

The board approved several procedural items that evening as well (agenda adoption and consent agenda approval).