Cumberland County Schools presents superintendent's recommended 2025-26 budget, seeks county funding for teacher supplements

Jay Tolan, a finance staff member for Cumberland County Schools, presented the superintendent's recommended 2025-26 budget to the Board of Education's Budget and Finance Committee, saying the plan is "anchored in excellence" and is intended to direct any new county funds primarily to employee supplements.

Tolan told the committee the locally flexible portion of the budget asks the county for $14.1 million. That request would fund a proposed $11.7 million increase in local teacher supplements, a $1.2 million increase for classified staff supplements and $1.2 million for principal and assistant principal supplements, he said. The recommended budget also reflects the governor's proposed statewide payroll increases: a 3% raise and a $1,000 bonus for classified staff, which Tolan described as "the only projection that we know" because it is in the governor's budget proposal.

Why it matters: the board and district staff said the county appropriation is the portion they can control most directly; the requested $14.1 million would be routed primarily to local supplements if the county provides some or all of the request. Tolan said, "Any money that we receive ... will go directly to supplements." He added that if the county provides less than the full request, the district would scale supplements proportionally.

Key numbers and trade-offs: the proposed plan uses $14.2 million of fund balance to balance the local budget and leaves about $17.6 million of unrestricted/unassigned fund balance projected at June 30, 2025. The district is projecting an increase of about $17.62 million in inflationary and benefit-related costs, including roughly $7.6 million for employer benefit and insurance increases and a little over $1 million in higher utilities. The district also expects to request $14.1 million from the county for 2025-26; Tolan illustrated that, depending on property-tax yield calculations, that request would translate to a several-cent increase in the county tax rate if the county chose to raise taxes to meet it.

Staff-level details and offsets: the presentation identified $2.72 million in reductions to central office expenditures and $700,000 in cuts to local contracted services as offsets the district will use so that any additional county funds go to staff supplements. The district also expects savings from a multiyear technology contract rollout (MetroNet) and from consolidating telephone services.

Teacher and principal supplements: the proposed $11.7 million for local teacher supplements would be targeted disproportionately toward lower-paid, early-career teachers: the district presented minimum/midpoint/maximum supplement scenarios and said its design intentionally boosts the front end of the teacher supplement schedule so earlier career teachers receive a larger proportional increase. Tolan said the average increase in local supplement would translate to roughly a 5% increase in total teacher pay when combined with state supplements.

Classification increases: the recommended plan includes a $1.2 million increase in classified supplements that would double the current local supplement (examples presented used a $30,000 salary with a current $600 supplement rising to $1,200 under the proposal).

Schools-level allocations: the budget would return more local discretionary funds to schools. The presentation proposes $4.1 million in direct school allocations, including a new elementary-only discretionary pool (roughly $300,000 total) and a $1 million capital allocation to schools, restored after years without a dedicated school-level capital line. Tolan said the $1 million capital pool would be distributed as a base plus per-pupil allocation and would be paired with facilities guidance from district maintenance staff.

Federal and state funding notes: Tolan emphasized that state and federal funding figures are projections. State funding is calculated in arrears on ADM and other formulas; the district has not yet received planning allotments for some state formulas. Federal program grants carry over year to year and are subject to finalization in October, he said.

Process and next steps: Tolan told committee members the superintendent's recommended budget will be reviewed at upcoming committee meetings, then presented to the full board for adoption in May. If the board adopts and sends the budget to the county, the county's response will return to the board in June for final reconciliation. He asked board members to provide questions or requested changes early to meet county deadlines.

Budget context and risks: board members questioned the level of fund balance remaining after the planned use and whether the district would be able to sustain higher ongoing supplements in subsequent years. Tolan acknowledged the risk and said the district sees the current year as an opportunity because of projected county revenue conditions but warned the district "can't sustain it" indefinitely without additional revenue.

Ending note: the committee did not vote to adopt the budget at the committee meeting; staff presented the superintendent's recommended budget and asked for committee input ahead of the board's formal adoption process in May.