Horry County Schools gives preliminary approval to 2025-26 budget with teacher pay increases

At a May meeting of the Horry County Schools Board of Trustees, the board gave preliminary approval to Superintendent Jones’s 2025–26 comprehensive budget, a plan the district said would total about $1.14 billion and include pay increases for teachers and other staffing adjustments.

The budget matters because it sets classroom staffing, salary schedules and district services for the coming year. Board consideration came after the finance committee met earlier the same day and forwarded recommendations to the full board.

James Edwards, a board member who presented the finance committee report, summarized the plan and figures: "The total budget is 1,140,000,000.00, reflecting a decrease of 22,700,000.0 compared to the previous year." The finance committee also recommended raising discretionary member funds from $8,000 to $12,000 per member per year and advancing the superintendent’s proposed budget to the full board subject to the listed bill assumptions in the committee packet.

A district staff member, Mr. Gardner, told the board the budget was updated after recent legislative developments: "Based upon the Senate finance version of the budget, we expect to receive an additional $2,014,172 additional revenues." Gardner also told the board that employer health insurance costs under discussion at the state level could raise employer health costs by roughly 4.6 percent, an increase he estimated at $1,308,649 for the district.

The district outlined several compensation items in the proposed plan: a beginning teacher salary increase to $52,015, an adjustment to all teacher salary schedules with an estimated $9.8 million cost, a 1.6 percent longevity increase for eligible employees, and two 1 percent cost-of-living adjustments — one scheduled for July 2025 and another for January 2026. The superintendent and staff also described $235,000 in staff development and training for language essentials for teachers of reading and spelling.

Board members debated before the vote. Howard Bonder, District 5 board member, said during discussion, "I plan on voting no tonight on the budget." The motion for preliminary approval nevertheless passed after a roll call; the board did not provide a detailed roll-call tally in the meeting record.

The board emphasized that the approval is preliminary and reflects updates tied to pending state budget actions and other assumptions presented at the finance committee. The superintendent and finance staff said they would continue to refine figures as final state allocations and insurer cost decisions are confirmed.