Audit & Finance committee recommends comprehensive FY26 budget for first reading

The Audit & Finance committee on April 24 voted to recommend the Charleston County School District’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to the Board of Trustees for first reading at the board’s April 28 meeting.

Committee members said the budget document is more comprehensive and transparent than past years, following Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) formats and incorporating reconciled compensation and contract schedules. “This book is written under the framework of the Government Finance Officers Association, for transparent and comprehensive, budget presentation,” said Mister Prentice, a finance staff member presenting the budget.

The recommendation matters because the committee asked that first reading occur earlier than in previous years so staff can begin implementing the budget in June rather than waiting until late June or July, giving departments more lead time to open requisitions and plan for the fiscal year start. “We really only have a few days, as we're going into the July 1,” Prentice said, noting the timing benefit for operations.

Committee members asked for clarifications on several items. Prentice described a Senate proviso amendment that broadened the employer health-premium increase to cover all employees and said it resulted in a 4.6% increase in the employer portion of health premiums effective Jan. 1, 2026; the budget includes a half-year of that increase. “So it was originally written as an employer increase for retiree insurance only, and they rewrote the language to make it comprehensive increase, for PEBA,” Prentice said. Committee members confirmed the increase applies to full-time, benefits-eligible employees’ employer premiums (single, employee+child, family), and that retirement contribution rates were unchanged.

Prentice and others emphasized improvements to forecasting and reporting in the new budget book: school-by-school profiles (including report card ratings and pupil demographics), three-year expenditure comparisons, and new schedules showing weighted student funding by function and object. “So you'll see things in here like the school portfolio sections, where each school now has a profile,” Prentice said. He also said the schedules are now automated from the district’s financial system, allowing the information to be in place at first reading.

On fund balance, Prentice said the proposed use of fund balance is strategic to align the reserve closer to the district policy target (discussed in committee) and that longer-term forecasts show improvement by FY2030. He told the committee staff would add a policy statement to the financial forecasting section and include the dollar requirement under the fund-balance policy on page 142 before second reading.

After discussion, a motion to recommend the budget to the full board for first reading passed (voice vote). The item will be placed on the Board of Trustees agenda for the April 28 meeting.

The committee also discussed trustee engagement opportunities, and Prentice offered one-on-one review sessions for trustees and committee members who request them.

The committee chair closed the item by confirming the budget will be moved to the April 28 board meeting and reminding members of the next audit & finance meeting on May 7 at 8 a.m.