Harrison County Board of Education reviews 2026 budget; presenters warn of large reserve drawdown

At a special work session, staff for Harrison County Schools presented the draft 2026 budget and a calendar for public review and adoption, telling the Board of Education the district faces delayed state and federal aid, a projected shortfall in property-tax revenue tied to recent state legislation, and a large one-time draw on reserves if current spending plans hold.

“The only item on our agenda this afternoon, this evening is the budget,” the presenter said, opening the session. Staff recommended a public budget hearing on May 6 and adoption on May 20 and reminded the board the legally required budget must be submitted by May 30 and published at least 10 days before the hearing.

Why this matters: staff said personnel is by far the largest budget driver (about 81.7% of operating costs) and that the proposed plan would use roughly $20.2 million of district reserves during the 2026 fiscal year if no additional cuts or revenue materialize, leaving the district with significantly lower reserves going into future years.

Revenue and timing Staff told the board final state aid and federal entitlement grant amounts remain uncertain because the state legislative session ran long and federal releases are delayed. The presenter said the district had been scheduled to receive final state aid allocations April 25 but had to meet the statutory budget deadline regardless. Staff added that the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) calculation did not change materially and that updated CEP figures boosted the district’s budget picture by about $800,000 in the current plan.

The presenter said changes to state law tied to oil and gas valuations are reducing local assessed value and will lower general-fund revenue that the district historically used to offset other costs by about $1.1 million next year. Staff also noted an impact to the excess-levy rate of about $0.99 (noted in the presentation as an excess-levy rate change) that the district has relied on largely for…