Board approves school nutrition plan to continue free meals; debate continues over FY26 general fund and use of reserves

The Washington County Board of Education approved a draft nutrition budget that continues the district-wide Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) — providing free breakfast and lunch to all students — and discussed multiple FY26 budget items embedded in the general-purpose draft, including teacher and staff pay adjustments, custodial contract increases and athletic supplement changes.

Cafeteria staff and finance personnel presented two budget scenarios: continuing CEP for all schools (the district-wide free meals approach) and a more conservative version that would return some schools to the traditional free/reduced application process. District staff said the CEP approach is more costly to the school-nutrition fund and would reduce the nutrition fund’s projected end-of-year balance by roughly $1.2 million compared with the non-CEP scenario. Board members voiced support for feeding all students but also noted the cost implications for the district’s general fund if county funding does not bridge the difference.

The board adopted the nutrition budget that keeps CEP in place for the coming year (vote recorded in the meeting as unanimous). During the board’s budget discussion later in the meeting, trustees considered several additional FY26 items that had been incorporated into the draft general-purpose budget: a $2,095 flat increase for teacher salary steps (to move progress toward a local minimum), a 1% across-the-board scale increase, a $1 increase for noncertified staff, a $2,000 flat increase for managers, a $90,000 adjustment to athletic supplements and a 3.25% cost adjustment for the janitorial services contract (about $55,770). The board approved the athletic supplement adjustment and the janitorial contract increase (the janitorial vote carried with one no).

Board members debated whether to present a general-purpose budget that uses an estimated $7.7 million of fund balance to reach a balanced FY26 budget, or to present an alternative that would avoid drawing down reserves to a level some trustees said would leave the district financially vulnerable. A board motion was made during the meeting to present a FY26 budget without using the board’s reserve fund balance; the transcript records robust debate on that motion but does not record a final roll-call outcome for the general-purpose budget decision in the portion of the transcript provided.

Board members also discussed a proposal to guarantee each classroom teacher a $100 allocation from classroom-instruction funds (taken from existing school improvement allocations). A motion to require principals to allocate $100 per classroom teacher failed.

Several members asked staff to present the draft budget to the county’s budget committee and to continue working with county leadership on funding options. The board authorized several related single-purpose purchase orders and capital items (including ESSER-funded furniture for high-school classrooms) during consent and discussion items; trustees deferred one large ESSER/technology purchase to allow time for budget clarity.

Staff said they will provide the county commission’s budget committee with the draft budgets and will return to the board with any requested revisions; school-year start decisions and program adjustments will depend on final budget outcomes and any county funding decisions.