Hamilton County board reviews balanced FY26 budget as members push to restore staff and services

Hamilton County Board of Education members on Thursday reviewed a version-2 operating budget for fiscal 2026 that district staff described as balanced after a months-long process to close a roughly $6 million shortfall.

Superintendent Doctor Robertson presented the package and said the document “is a budget. We are having to make hard conversations.” He described a set of adjustments that include central office staffing reductions, a tightened cell phone stipend, one-time and recurring cuts at multiple budget lines and a proposal asking each school to plan for a reduction equal to half of one full-time position.

The package relies in part on state funding the superintendent said the district expects to flow from the governor’s budget and on conservative local revenue estimates. Robertson said the district budgeted local revenue (property and sales tax) “at what was approved last year,” and reiterated staff were presenting the FY26 operating budget based on that figure.

Why it matters: Board members said the package would protect some district priorities but expressed alarm at proposed reductions that would affect student-facing services. Several directors urged the administration to revisit central-office staffing and find additional savings so schools would not have to reduce classroom or student support positions.

Key elements and trade-offs

- Balanced-budget claim: Robertson said a version presented on April 10 left the district about $6 million short; the version discussed at the meeting incorporates corrections,…