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Randolph County Board of Education hears FY26 budget, approves job description and personnel actions
Summary
At a special called meeting and FY26 budget hearing, district staff presented a proposed $30 million-plus budget, explained enrollment and teacher-unit changes, and the board approved a new ARI reading interventionist job description and a personnel action sheet; the board also entered and exited an executive session on a personnel matter.
The Randolph County Board of Education met in a special called session for a fiscal year 2026 budget hearing and approved several personnel items on Aug. (date not specified) during a meeting that included a presentation of the district's proposed budget by Beth Waters.
Beth Waters presented the proposed FY26 budget, saying, “This is the proposed budget for fiscal year 26.” She told the board the district budgets just over $30 million in total revenues and that the district's state funding is calculated from average daily membership (ADM) measured 20 days after Labor Day. Waters summarized that the district expected roughly $19,000,000 from the state, about $7.5 million from local sources and smaller amounts from federal and other sources, and that the general-fund one-month operating balance based on budgeted expenditures is $2,159,986. Waters said the district currently projects it will finish FY26 with a “3.58 reserve.”
Waters discussed staffing units and enrollment, saying the district gained 0.36 of a teacher unit while losing 1.7 students in the latest comparison, and that an interim estimate she requested showed a possible loss of about 113 students—equivalent, she said, to roughly six teacher units. She noted Woodland High School as the only school that had gained students in the most recent pull of ADM data. Waters also described special-revenue and federal program funding levels, saying special revenues were projected around $4,200,000, Title I funding was “a little less than a million,” Title II about $140,000 and an IDEA/related fund at about $565,000; she said most special-education expenditures are for aides' salaries and benefits and purchased services.
On transportation, Waters warned that bus costs have risen substantially. “We were buying buses in the $70,000 range. [A] bus now cost[s] you between a $130,000 and a $140,000,” she said, and added that state reimbursement applies only to a portion (about $80,000) of that cost, leaving the district to cover the remainder. Waters said the state recently provided funds to acquire four buses for the district.
Waters also noted the district remains on the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for school meals, meaning all students receive free breakfast and lunch. She discussed the RAISE Act (identified in the presentation as Act 2025-257), which Waters said reorganized how certain student-population funds—poverty/at-risk, special education, English Learner, gifted and charter allocations—are distributed, and she told the board that charter-school funding did not apply because the district has no charter schools.
During the meeting the board also acted on personnel and policy items. On the superintendent's recommendation, the board approved a revised job description for an ARI reading interventionist; the superintendent told the board the state had changed some requirements and the contract length language needed aligning with state standards. The board authorized going into executive session to discuss “the good name and character of an individual”; the board later voted to exit executive session and then approved the superintendent's personnel action sheet.
Votes at a glance - Approval of agenda and minutes (Aug. 7 meeting): motion carried (voice vote; all in favor). Specific movers/second not specified in the transcript. - Approval of FY26 budget hearing presentation: presented for hearing; no final adoption vote recorded in the transcript (state funding will be finalized after the 20-day post–Labor Day ADM count). - Approval of ARI reading interventionist job description: motion carried (voice vote; all in favor). Mover/second not specified. - Motion to go into executive session to discuss the good name and character of an individual: motion carried (voice vote; all in favor). No action reported from the executive session in the transcript. - Approval of personnel actions sheet (per superintendent recommendation): motion carried (voice vote; all in favor). Mover/second not specified.
The board's presentation emphasized that final state funding will depend on the ADM reported 20 days after Labor Day; Waters and board members noted the district's reserves built during years with federal COVID relief funding and cautioned that the loss of those funds could mean tighter budgets in future years. The district did not specify a final budget-adoption date in the public portion of the transcript; Waters said she would rely on the state ADM count to finalize funding calculations.
The meeting included routine procedural approvals before and after the budget presentation and concluded with personnel approvals and a brief discussion about signing the personnel paperwork. No additional dates for final budget adoption or follow-up public hearings were specified in the transcript.
