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Oak Ridge Board approves FY25-26 budget on first reading after line-by-line review
Summary
The Oak Ridge Board of Education completed a line-by-line review of the proposed FY25-26 general fund budget and voted unanimously to approve the budget on first reading. Board and staff highlighted major program totals, several line-item questions and clarifications, and scheduled a second reading at the next regular meeting.
The Oak Ridge Board of Education completed a line-by-line review of the district's proposed FY25-26 general purpose fund budget and approved the plan on first reading during a special meeting on Oct. 23, 2025.
Board members said the session was intended to make the district's expenditures and assumptions transparent to the public. After the detailed presentation of program totals and percentage changes, the board voted to approve the FY25-26 budget on first reading; the motion was made by Dr. Hartman and seconded by Miss Craven and passed unanimously.
The board spent about an hour and a half reviewing line items grouped by program. Major figures presented by staff included a proposed total for the regular instruction program of $38,338,532 (an increase of 20.96%), a special education program total of $6,529,404 (up 9.36%), and a career and technical education total of $2,571,200 (up 7.1%). The district reported a contingency of $1,100,000 (up 48.47%) intended to cover potential grants, donations, and enrollment-driven salary contingencies.
Other program totals called out during the presentation included: regular instructional support $4,392,916 (down 9.46%); technology services $3,270,169 (up 8.57%); communications $340,482 (up 17.27%); board of education expenses $1,329,949 (down 10.56%); office of principal $5,249,719 (up 12.35%); fiscal services $1,190,238 (up 12.04%); human resources $585,527 (up 12.92%); operation of plant $5,423,989 (up 6.38%); maintenance of plant $2,311,096 (up 3.08%); transportation $2,188,214 (up 4.17%); early childhood education $453,803 (no change reported); and a proposed regular capital outlay of $1,195,205 (down 67.4%). The presentation concluded with a districtwide general purpose fund total of $83,188,805, an overall increase of 8.12% versus the prior year.
Board members asked for, and staff provided, clarifications on several line items. On the district's longstanding student exchange program, staff said the NACA exchange between Oak Ridge students and Japanese students has been in place for about 35 years, paused during COVID, and is being rebuilt; the district is budgeting additional funds this year to support visits and a larger ceremony for returning exchanges. As staff put it: "...we've slowly been rebuilding that NACA program back every year," and the plans for this anniversary year "include more visits and field trips for the Japanese students" (staff comment during the review).
A board member asked about the trustees commission line item. A staff member explained: "The trustees commission is ... a fee that we pay to Anderson and Rome County trustee. It is well, I'm actually sorry. Sorry. It's the rates are set by TCA and intergovernment intergovernmental agreements, and it we're basically paying them for collecting and dispersing taxes." The trustee commission was described as an expense the district pays when local property-tax revenues are collected and distributed.
Board members also sought clarity on the district's transfer to the Family Resource Center and how TISA funding affects that support. A staff member explained that much of the Family Resource Center's budget is covered by donations but that the district transfer pays salaries and benefits for program staff. The staff member said TISA consolidated several former state grants into base funding and does not provide a separate weight for the Family Resource Center; "it's literally just part of that $7,295. That's the base," the staff member said.
On personnel-screening costs, staff described a one-time implementation expense to join an updated screening process tied to the TBI/FBI system and said the routine rescreening cycle is every five years. As staff summarized, the implementation cost should be a single-year expense and "should drop back down after this year."
No members of the public signed up to speak during the public hearing portion of the meeting; the board proceeded to a formal motion to approve the budget on first reading. After the vote, the board noted logistical items: graduation is scheduled for Friday at 10:00 a.m. at the Civic Center, and the regular board meeting the following week at 5:00 p.m. will include the second reading of the FY25-26 budget (not line-by-line).
Quotes in this story come from staff and board remarks recorded during the Oct. 23 special meeting transcript.
