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Randolph County Schools presents FY 2026 budget; board approves job description and personnel actions
Summary
Randolph County Schools staff presented a proposed $30 million budget for fiscal year 2026, citing state as the largest revenue source and rising bus costs. The board approved a new ARI reading interventionist job description, entered and exited executive session, and approved the personnel action sheet.
Randolph County Schools staff presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget at a special-called Randolph County Board of Education meeting and the board approved a set of routine personnel items.
Randolph County Schools staff member Beth Harper Waters presented the budget, saying the total budgeted revenues across all funds were about $30,000,001.86 and that most revenue comes from the state. "This is the proposed budget for fiscal year 26," Waters said, and she described the state, local and federal revenue breakdowns and reserves.
Waters told the board the district is required to maintain a one-month operating balance; based on the budgeted expenditures that one-month figure is $2,159,986. She said, "I project we will finish FY '26 with a 3.58 reserve." Waters also described Average Daily Membership (ADM) and teacher-unit changes: the district’s ADM held “pretty steady” year to year, with a reported loss of about 1.7 students and a net gain of 0.36 teacher units in the state-funded allocation. A separate, preliminary ADM pull showed an estimated loss of 113 students compared with the previous year, which Waters said would translate to roughly six teacher units if it holds.
Transportation and fleet renewal drew specific attention. Waters said bus prices have roughly doubled since she started in the office, from about $70,000 per bus to between $130,000 and $140,000 now, and that the state’s reimbursement formula does not cover the full current cost. "Even though it looks like we're gaining a lot, what we're having to pay for a bus and what the state reimburses us for, there's still...a huge gap," she said, describing a shortfall between purchase price and state reimbursement.
Waters reviewed special revenue funds and federal program allocations, including Title I, Title II and IDEA funding. She reported special revenue funds projected near $4.2 million, Title I “a little less than a million,” and Title II around $140,000. She also said the district remains on the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), meaning all students qualify for free breakfast and lunch under that federal provision.
After the presentation, the board asked questions and thanked Waters for improving the district's reserve position since federal COVID-era funds declined.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to approve the agenda from the previous meeting held Aug. 7, 2025: approved by voice vote. - Motion to approve the minutes of the Aug. 7 board meeting: approved by voice vote. - Motion to approve the job description for an ARI reading interventionist (per the superintendent’s recommendation): approved by voice vote. Board members discussed that the state changed relevant requirements, producing a different job description and a small contract-day difference noted by the board. - Motion to enter executive session to discuss the good name and character of an individual (superintendent’s recommendation): motion approved by voice vote; topic discussed in executive session (no substantive details were disclosed in the public record). - Motion to approve the personnel action sheet (per superintendent’s recommendation): approved by voice vote.
Board members and staff did not provide specific public-facing details about the individual discussed in executive session. The board chair noted the executive session “shouldn't take 10 minutes,” and the meeting returned to open session with routine approvals following.
The budget presentation packet included line-item breakdowns for general fund, special revenue, debt service, capital projects and federal trust funds, and Waters said school-level teacher-unit allocations reflect state allocations, state-picked units (such as reading and math coaches), and federal-funded units (for example, Title I or special education positions). Waters also said midyear student growth can change state funding allocations and that the district did not receive a recent “common purchase” allocation that it had received in prior years.
The board did not take a formal vote on the budget at this meeting; the session recorded only the public presentation, board questions and the subsequent brief personnel actions.
