Budget staff presented a tentative budget at the Shelby County Board of Education meeting that includes a 3% across‑the‑board pay increase for all staff next year, changes to classified pay schedules, replacement of student fees with district allocations and an increased transportation funding projection.

The tentative budget matters because it sets the district’s spending priorities for the coming year and frames the board’s upcoming tax‑rate decision and staffing allocations.

The presenter said the tentative budget is roughly $617,000 higher than the draft budget, primarily because the district expects higher transportation funding. The presentation kept the current tax rate and summarized major expenditure changes: a 3% increase for all staff (including substitutes), revisions to classified salary schedules with fewer pay grades, additional school staff, higher high‑school coach and sponsor stipends, and replacing instructional and athletic fees with district allocations so students can attend events free of charge.

The presenter noted insurance and workers’ compensation premiums are up; property‑casualty premiums are anticipated to increase about 15 percent, and workers’ compensation costs have also risen. The presenter said recurring revenues exceed current expenditures by about $460,000 (less than 1 percent of the general fund).

The tentative budget includes a contingency of about $19,700,000 (28.6 percent). Staff emphasized that many items in that contingency are one‑time projects previously approved and that the board has targeted a contingency reserve in the 10–12 percent range. Staff said certified assessed values from the state and the formal tax‑rate setting, required by law, will occur later; staffing allocations will be adjusted on day 5 based on actual enrollments.

Staff flagged future risks: possible reductions in federal funding, uncertainty about continued full‑day kindergarten funding (included in the state budget bill but not codified as statute), rising insurance costs, and the need to restore bus and device replacement funding into the recurring budget.

No formal board adoption of the tentative budget was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt; it was presented for board review and further action later in the process.