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Superintendent outlines $8 million local ask, spotlights safety and school support priorities
Summary
New Hanover County Schools Superintendent presented a proposed budget that asks county commissioners for $8 million in additional local funding, centered on a 3% pay/benefit increase and district priorities including school safety and a two‑year pilot to add school-based specialist positions.
Dr. Barnes, superintendent of New Hanover County Schools, presented a draft 2024–25 budget that asks county commissioners for an additional $8 million in local funding to cover cost increases and new priorities. The request pairs a $3 million “cost of doing business” increase to hold staff pay and benefits steady with roughly $5 million for superintendent priorities, including safety investments and school‑level specialist positions.
The proposal matters because the district told board members it cannot balance next year’s budget without those local funds and is building its spending plan assuming continued federal and state allotments. “We are requesting from the county an increase in our local appropriation of 3%,” Ashley Sutton, presenting the financial packet, said, describing the ask as intended to cover inflation and mandated increases tied to salaries and retirement.
Board members heard that the $8 million is structured as roughly $3 million to fund a 3% salary/benefit increase for local employees and about $5 million for program priorities. That $5 million includes a two‑year, $4 million pilot to place one flexible “specialist” at each school (to be defined by each school’s leadership team) and roughly $1 million for a package of safety and related professional development items.
The superintendent framed the specialist pilot as a data‑driven, school‑directed effort. “Principal and the school leadership team decide what that job is supposed to do under specific data points,” Dr. Barnes said, describing options such as academic remediation, behavior supports, or graduation supports. The board was told the two‑year pilot is intended to produce measurable results that could be taken to state lawmakers.
Safety funding described in the packet includes districtwide implementation of a Safe and Civil Schools program, mobile weapon‑detection equipment and related training, and four new classified positions to support safety operations at traditional high schools. Julie (role: staff member) and other presenters said the Safe and Civil Schools training focuses on behavior de‑escalation and staff well‑being in addition to student safety.
Sutton and Dr. Barnes also told members the draft relies on several one‑time revenues (FEMA reimbursement and a pending DOT easement payment among them) and recurring sources (Medicaid billing, indirect costs on federal grants, and interest revenue). The superintendent cautioned the board that any one‑time revenues used to balance next year’s plan would not be available in future years and that county support will likely be a recurring need given rising costs.
Board members asked for follow‑up detail on program guardrails, data points for the specialist pilot, the lifecycle and deployment plans for detection equipment, and how the safety positions would coordinate with SROs. The board agreed to continue the conversation at the next budget session.
Votes at the meeting touched procedural items tied to the budget work session agenda but not the budget ask itself; the board did not adopt the superintendent’s budget at this meeting.
