Horry County Schools superintendent frames budget priorities; board asks staff to model teacher pay increases

Horry County Schools Superintendent Mr. Jones used a work-session presentation to outline budget priorities for the 2025–26 general fund and asked trustees to focus on academic metrics and a conservative fiscal approach as staff prepare formal budget proposals.

Jones framed the budget conversation around student outcomes and several operational metrics. “Ninety-five percent of students can and should be reading at grade level,” Jones said, urging the board to consider literacy, graduation and retention metrics when shaping budget choices. He said he wants future budget decisions to enable principals and people closest to students to have necessary resources.

Finance and operations staff described the budgetary picture and near-term cost drivers. Mr. Gardner told trustees the district is projecting 46,758 K–12 students next year — roughly 491 more students than the current projection — and that the district will open two elementary schools (Kin Oaks Elementary and Pine Island Elementary). He estimated staffing costs tied to enrollment growth and the two new schools at about $4,100,000 and start-up and operating costs for the new facilities at roughly $1,800,000.

Gardner walked trustees through fund-balance detail. The district’s overall ending general fund balance was presented at about $169,000,000; after set-asides and commitments the unassigned fund balance was shown at roughly $118,700,000. The board’s policy minimum (15% of prior-year general fund expenditures) was presented as $87,500,000; the staff said the amount above that minimum is about $31,200,000. Gardner also noted the unassigned fund balance equals roughly 20.4% of outflows — about 75 days — and that the district meets both the state’s one-month fund balance requirement and GFOA guidelines.

Personnel questions dominated much of the discussion. A slide showed the current beginning teacher salary of $48,275. Trustee Wagner asked finance staff to run a budget exercise that raises step 0 to $50,000, includes step increases and a 2% provision for those who do not receive a step, and to show the cost of a 1% cost-of-living increase across the payroll. “If we wanna increase COLA, we know what it is by 1%,” Wagner said, and asked staff to quantify the changes so trustees can decide.

Trustees discussed whether to raise the starting salary only or to raise salaries across the schedule. Some trustees said the district already ranks highly in later steps statewide and suggested targeting early-step competitiveness to reduce hiring and retention pressure. Others cautioned about pay inversion — where senior teachers or teachers at certain steps would be paid more than assistant principals — and urged the staff to include data on non-teaching, in-building professionals who work directly with students.

Jones provided budget guidance for staff: no increase in district-level head count and a 2% reduction in non-personnel budgets as a starting assumption. He said district leaders will submit site and central budgets publicly in March and emphasized “what we spend our money on is a reflection of what we value, period.”

No formal budget vote occurred at the session; trustees asked staff for modeling and additional retention and compensation data. Staff also indicated they will return with scenarios showing the fiscal impacts of changes to the salary schedule and proposed COLA adjustments.

Next steps: finance staff will run the requested salary and COLA scenarios, HR staff will provide retention and vacancy data requested by trustees, and district leaders will present formal budget proposals in public meetings in March.