Shelby County Schools finance team proposes $66.4 million amendment, outlines fund-balance plan and staffing moves

Chief Langston, the district finance lead, told the Audit, Budget and Finance Committee on Aug. 12 that the administration will present a FY26 budget amendment that “authorizes a net increase of $66,430,309” across multiple funds and outlined recommended one-time uses of fund balance and staffing adjustments tied to the transition of Head Start services and other grant changes.

Why it matters: The amendment covers changes to the general fund, capital improvement fund and several special revenue funds; it reallocates one-time savings for textbooks, devices and carry-forward contracts and absorbs positions previously funded by Head Start grants so key early-childhood services and voluntary pre-K classrooms can continue.

What staff presented

Chief Langston summarized the package as follows: the general fund would increase by $72,714,462 primarily to cover planned, one-time uses of fund balance (including comprehensive early-intervention coordinators and one-time teacher bonuses), the capital improvement fund would be reduced by $14,986,261 to align the budget with county support and actual expenditures, and certain special revenue funds would increase by roughly $8.7 million for state school-improvement and public-school security grants. The amendment package, taken together, raised the district’s total budget to slightly more than $2 billion before removing a pending Head Start grant of about $25 million that staff said would be taken out in a subsequent amendment.

Staffing changes and Head Start transition

Langston and early-childhood staff described an effort to preserve program continuity as Head Start funding changed. The district received roughly $4.9 million to support a short transition period for Head Start classrooms and is now adding roughly 54 early-childhood positions to the general fund to sustain voluntary pre-K (VPK) classrooms previously blended with Head Start staffing. District administrators said the general fund will assume some education assistant positions initially funded by Head Start so the VPK program can continue to operate; a separate list of retained and eliminated positions will be posted internally as part of the staffing reconciliation and position control number (PCN) process.

Board member Amber Hewitt Garcia and others asked for clarity about the number of positions kept or eliminated and the process for internal hiring; district leaders said they planned targeted internal postings and coordination with HR to match credentials and preserve jobs where feasible. Staff also noted that Porter-Leath and community partners will continue to host job fairs for displaced employees where appropriate.

Vacancies and classroom coverage

Committee members pressed staff on vacancies and classroom coverage ahead of the fall term. Langston described roughly 260–275 budgeted vacancies districtwide but said many classrooms will still be staffed through a mix of strategies: a large certified substitute pool (about 1,000 subs, roughly 450 certified), temporary consolidation of small classes, long-term substitutes and reassignment through 20-day staff adjustments based on final enrollment. “We do have roughly about 260, 270, vacant positions,” Langston said, and the administration pledged follow-up reports explaining how those vacancies would be covered in practice.

Fund-balance assignments and proposed uses

Langston walked the committee through an unassigned general fund balance that staff reported at roughly $301 million prior to proposed assignments. The administration proposed assigning about $65 million of that unassigned balance to one-time needs including carry-forward purchase orders (contracts already encumbered across fiscal years), a $16 million science textbook adoption, warehouse fees, school closure/opening (SCORP) supports and a device refresh for about 15,000 high-school devices that are out of warranty (estimated $12 million). If the committee accepted the recommendation, the unassigned general fund balance would fall to roughly $236 million (an estimated 18% of general fund expenditures), still above the district policy target of 8–15%.

Capital projects and county funding

District leaders said the capital-improvement fund would be adjusted downward to reflect actual county capital contributions and spending; staff said they had spent more than initially estimated and would align the capital budget with county allocations. Facilities staff and committee members discussed a facilities “right-sizing” and potential public-private partnerships to help address life-safety and modernization needs not covered by county dollars.

Next steps and transparency

Langston outlined a budget calendar intended to begin earlier than in past years, with multiple board briefings, community engagement sessions and line-item budget sessions for trustees. Committee members requested more detailed, line-item breakdowns and clearer explanations of central-office versus instruction spending; staff agreed to provide those materials and a list of retained and eliminated positions related to the Head Start transition.

No committee vote recorded; staff said the proposal will move through the district’s formal adoption steps and return to the full board for approval.