School leaders present FY26 budget draft, propose targeted hires and weigh 3–5% pay increases

Superintendent Dr. Bowling presented the Clarke County Public Schools’ first draft of the fiscal 2026 budget at the Jan. 27 meeting and recommended a narrow set of new positions while warning of uncertainty in state funding and health‑insurance costs.

The nut graf: The first-draft budget reduces an earlier list of more than $1 million in new-staff requests to a prioritized package estimated at $264,747, calls for two bus replacements and a $40,000 increase in HVAC capital reserves, and sets salary-cost parameters for the board: a 1% pay raise for all employees would cost about $206,000. The superintendent and finance chair urged the board to consider scenarios for 3%, 4% and 5% increases ahead of a Feb. 10 budget workshop.

Dr. Bowling told the board the finance committee reviewed updated state and local revenue estimates. Committee chair Ms. Bennett reported the division expects about a $209,000 reduction in state funding for FY25 driven in part by a lower average-daily-membership (ADM) count and changes in several state lines; that netted an estimated $190,000 reduction overall for FY25 in the committee’s review. For FY26, state calc files currently indicate a modest net increase of about $45,000, and the projected FY26 revenue picture was…