Memphis-Shelby County Schools present June 2025 budget amendment, move to adopt FY2026 budget amid grant uncertainty and competing priorities

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) presented a June 2025 budget amendment and the district's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget during a full-board committee meeting, with administrators urging the board to approve a procedural amendment now and adopt the FY2026 plan at a special call meeting the next day.

Chief Tito Langston, chief of business operations, told the board the June amendment "authorizes a net increase of $9,900,000" in the general fund to align the budget with newly approved state grants and accounting codes. He said the amendment also reflects a net decrease of about $6,400,000 in the capital fund to match the county commission's capital improvement budget, and a roughly $4.2 million increase in nonfederal special revenue funds driven by awarded grants, including a special-education preschool grant and an extension of the district's Innovative School Model award. "We got approved for the summer learning camp grant," Langston said, and the amendment adds that funding into the general fund. He added that the district received more USDA money for school meals this year, prompting about $4.5 million of additional revenue and spending in the nutrition services fund to cover higher food costs.

Why it matters: District leaders said the amendment is primarily procedural: it aligns MSCS accounts to state grant awards and prepares the system for the fiscal audit later this year. But board members pressed staff for details on several high-visibility items that will shape FY2026 spending and operations.

Head Start and ESSER funding

Board members probed the status of the Head Start grant, which Langston said remained uncertain at the time of the meeting. "As recently as last week ... we still haven't heard whether we have it yet," he said, adding that the Head Start funding runs on a calendar year and the district was approved only through June 30. Langston said staff have contingency options and would bring recommendations to the board when the award amount is known. On ESSER funds, Langston said MSCS has submitted documentation to the state for about $55.6 million in capital improvement…