MNPS proposes FY26 budget to make ESSER-funded programs permanent, add pay increases and safety investments

Metro Nashville Public Schools officials presented the district’s proposed FY26 operating budget to the Metro Nashville Council Budget & Finance Committee on the evening of the board presentation, asking the council to sustain one-time ESSER investments by moving them into recurring funds and to support planned compensation and safety measures.

“First and foremost, we are very proud, extremely proud of, our school district, receiving a level 5, TVAAS status from the Department of Education for the third year in a row,” Dr. Adrienne Battle, director of schools for Metro Nashville Public Schools, told the committee, citing gains in growth, proficiency and graduation rates that she said the proposed budget is intended to sustain.

The proposal moves roughly $65.5 million of programs funded through the federal ESSER Bridge into the district’s operating fund and includes an estimated $45 million in employee compensation and benefits investments, according to Jorge Robles, chief financial officer for MNPS. Robles said the package proposes a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment in addition to regular step increases for certificated and support staff and continues pension and health insurance funding.

“Mayor O’Connell proposed a 13% increase for MPS, which is the most significant investment that we’ve had in education today,” Robles said, adding that the mayor’s budget includes $15 million to keep a nurse in every school (that funding is included in the Health Department’s budget). He said a portion of the increase would also cover pass‑through obligations to MNPS‑authorized charter schools (an approximately $13.5 million increase to charter pass‑throughs was noted in the presentation).

Board members and district leaders framed the budget priorities around four board‑approved categories: continuity of operations (inflationary and contractual costs), strategic investments to replace expiring ESSER programs, strategic employee compensation and comprehensive safety and security planning. Dr. Battle highlighted the district’s scholars portfolio — summer programs, high‑dosage tutoring and weekend enrichment — as a major ongoing investment, and said MNPS will continue expanding mental‑health and community‑based supports.

Specific line items discussed by MNPS staff included: roughly $24 million for the scholars portfolio (promising scholars, accelerating scholars/high‑dosage tutoring, enriching scholars), about $20.4 million to shore up school‑based student supports (exceptional education, English learner supports, speech and related positions), approximately $12 million for school‑based determined needs (SBB), $6.3 million for expanded mental‑health and behavioral supports, $3.4 million for safety ambassadors in elementary schools and a multi‑year plan for weapons‑detection systems in high schools. An additional $9.3 million was described as a possible further reduction in classroom‑associate ratios if the district moves those aspirational items forward.

School board budget chair Bethena Nava McKinney, vice chair of the school board, thanked Mayor John Cooper and the council for prior investments and noted the district’s reported gains: MNPS’s graduation rate reached 85.7% for the most recent year, the district ranked fourth among the 100 largest urban districts in post‑pandemic math recovery and ninth in reading, and 75% of schools met or exceeded growth expectations, she said.

MNPS officials repeatedly emphasized that many positions now shown in the FY26 operating budget were previously funded with ESSER or other non‑recurring sources and that the FY26 proposal is intended to sustain positions and programs that district leaders say produced measurable gains.

At the same time, Robles and others warned of revenue uncertainty tied to recent state and federal actions. Robles said a change in the state’s fiscal‑capacity factor and emerging voucher and charter policies could reduce expected state TISA (state school funding) revenue and that MNPS is watching two remaining TISA cycles in May and June before final allocations are set. He estimated a possible $10 million reduction tied to the fiscal capacity factor but said final numbers were pending state calculations.

Committee members pressed MNPS leaders for more detailed line‑by‑line materials. Council Member Sharon Johnston said the packet delivered shortly before the hearing did not give the council time to analyze the proposed allocations; MNPS staff replied that the district must finalize board approvals and wait for state allocation details before posting a complete line‑item operating budget. Robles said MNPS will provide more complete documentation when school‑board approvals and state revenue figures are finalized in June.

Council members also raised workforce and operational concerns. Several members asked how the district is addressing educator burnout and retention. Dr. Battle listed measures in the proposal — compensation increases, classroom associates that provide consistent coverage instead of ad‑hoc substitutes, expanded mental‑health and navigator supports, and investments in high‑quality instructional materials — and said those were developed in response to educator and community feedback. MNPS noted the district funds a 75% employer share of employee health insurance and that the district absorbed most of the recent insurance cost increase rather than passing it fully to employees.

On safety, MNPS said it is piloting expanded SRO coverage and that elementary schools rely on unarmed safety ambassadors; a weapons‑detection program has been implemented in high schools and MNPS presented a plan (not fully funded in the current proposal) for middle‑ and additional high‑school deployments. Committee members asked about state law and discipline protocols tied to “threats of mass violence” reporting; MNPS leaders answered that the district must follow state law and local law‑enforcement procedures in those cases.

Several council members asked the district to produce more transparent, timely breakdowns of ESSER‑to‑operating transitions and the FY26 line items so the council can make appropriation decisions. MNPS staff said they would return with further detail after the school‑board review and when state allocations are finalized.

No formal budget appropriation or vote occurred at the meeting; the presentation was a request for council members to consider the mayor’s proposed funding and to understand how MNPS plans to make one‑time federal investments recurring to sustain gains, maintain required services and continue selected expansions.

Tensions described by both council members and MNPS leaders centered on scheduling and fiscal timelines: MNPS must wait for state allocations and the school board’s approval before releasing a final line‑item operating budget, while council members said they need more time and specificity to perform their appropriation role. MNPS emphasized the district’s stated goal of protecting school services and school staffing levels while absorbing budgetary volatility from state and federal policy changes.