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Commission expects Davidson County authorizer‑fee clawback; staff outline refunds, conservative enrollment assumptions and FY26 requests
Summary
The commission's finance director told the Business Operations Committee the commission expects a Davidson County authorizer‑fee clawback of roughly $150,000, will refund about $86,500 across districts this year, and is using conservative enrollment assumptions while pursuing two additional coordinator positions in the FY26 budget request.
At the Jan. 23 Business Operations Committee meeting, Director of Finance and Operations Melanie Harrell summarized midyear budget adjustments and revenue risks tied to local tax collections and school enrollment.
Davidson County clawback and refunds: Harrell said preliminary Davidson County tax reporting and county communications indicate a likely clawback of approximately $150,000 against last year’s authorizer‑fee collections. She said the final audited accounting from the state and county remains pending and the estimate could change, but staff included the expected clawback in the commission’s updated projections. Harrell also said that total refunds to schools this year will be about $86,500, more heavily weighted toward Memphis schools because Davidson County’s clawback reduces available refund dollars.
Salaries and benefits: Harrell told commissioners that salaries and benefits were running over the original projection primarily because the state appropriated TEAM funding increases that affect benefits and because actual benefit costs have exceeded standard budget assumptions. She said the commission remains within overall legislative budget authority but is tracking the variance.
Budget assumptions and enrollment: Harrell explained the commission uses conservative enrollment assumptions for budgeting — typically planning 15–20% below maximum projected enrollment at the portfolio level — and that individual school projections are adjusted where operators are materially underenrolled. She said staff will run another “true up” of state funding projections in February and a final true up in June.
FY26 request: Harrell said the commission requested two additional coordinator positions in its FY26 budget request to support growing district functions and programmatic needs; the governor’s budget proposal and legislative actions will determine whether those positions are funded.
Ending: Harrell said staff will continue to monitor local tax collections, run scheduled true ups and provide updates to commissioners at the March meeting.
