Savannah-Chatham County school district projects small shortfall at first public hearing on 02/1926 budget

At a public hearing on the district’s preliminary 02/1926 budget, Savannah-Chatham County School District finance staff presented revenue and expenditure forecasts that would leave the general fund roughly $1.2 million short, requiring a planned draw from fund balance.

Finance presenter Miss Cooley said the district’s current general-fund revenue estimate is $665,400,000 and that preliminary expenditures total $666,600,000. "We are using a $1,200,000 fund balance," she said, and added that the budget would have shown a small surplus if the board had not previously committed $2,990,000 for textbooks at the Feb. 7, 2024 board meeting.

The budget presentation identified the primary cost drivers: a state-mandated increase in the Teachers Retirement System employer rate from 20.78% to 21.94 (an estimated $3,470,000 cost), a projected state health insurance increase of about $8,400,000, and step increases tied to…