Richland 1 board hears FY26 budget outlook as ESSER funding ends

The Richland School District One Board met April 22 for a budget work session at the Stevenson Administration Building, where district finance staff reviewed fiscal-year results, the expiration of federal ESSER funds and early priorities for fiscal year 2026. The session was informational; no budget adoption occurred.

Finance presenter Ms. Bing told the board the district’s recent revenues break down roughly to $123,000,000 in state funding, $243,000,000 in local funding and $21,000,000 in transfers in, and that 83% of general-fund spending is on salaries and fringes. She said ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds — which the district received in total of about $121,000,000 since 2020 — expired Sept. 30, 2024, and that some programs previously supported with ESSER are now funded only through one-time balances, not the base budget.

The presentation summarized how the state funding formula change enacted in recent years moves traditional districts and charter schools into a single “pot” for state dollars, which the presenter said can shift resources away from traditional districts as charter enrollments grow. Ms. Bing said state guidance uses a targeted student‑teacher ratio of 11.2 and an illustrative teacher salary/fringe package of about $72,900 when calculating funding. She also outlined county revenue history and said the district’s current projection from the county shows a minimum increase of about $618,000 for the coming year under a “no mill increase” scenario; the district noted a $5.9 million difference between the no‑mill and mill‑cap totals.

Board members pressed for additional detail and analyses. Commissioner Bishop asked staff to provide a net‑effect illustration of the proposed employee health premium change — “can you show us the net effect of what that is?” — meaning the change to an employee’s take‑home pay after any salary adjustments and premium increases. Ms. Bing said the House budget numbers currently available include a possible employee health premium increase that could raise employee premiums about $441 annually unless the Senate offsets that cost; she said the Senate was still reviewing the budget.

The board heard that the district’s adopted FY25 package included a step increase and an average 9% salary increase for teachers, and that the district’s current starting teacher salary is $50,100. Ms. Bing listed early personnel requests for FY26: two full‑time equivalent social workers, two athletic trainers and two multilingual specialists. She described reductions made to balance FY25 after ESSER ended — including suspending summer programs and removing employee incentives from the base budget — and said some items are being temporarily funded from one‑time fund balance and will need future decisions to restore them to the base budget.

Several commissioners also asked for trend data. Commissioner Bishop requested two‑ to three‑year comparisons showing how spending shares changed across the district’s major categories (instruction, operations, leadership, other commitments). Commissioner Lomenac and others asked staff to provide options lists that would let the board weigh higher‑priority versus lower‑priority expenditures if federal or state funding were reduced further.

The meeting opened with a procedural vote to adopt the agenda. Commissioner Aaron Bishop moved to adopt the agenda; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Angela Devine and was approved 6–0 (Commissioner Weston absent). No formal budget votes were taken at the work session.

Next steps noted in the meeting: the district must submit its millage/funding request to the county by May 2; the state budget process (House/Senate) remained open at the time of the presentation and could change projected state dollars; and the board will receive further presentations (first, second and third readings) as the budget process proceeds.