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Oak Ridge Schools outline FY26 budget concepts, propose consolidated salary schedule with 5% minimum increase
Summary
District staff presented high-level FY26 budget concepts focused on staffing and a new consolidated salary schedule that would guarantee all employees a minimum 5% increase; enrollment and revenue projections were also discussed.
District staff presented an overview of FY 2026 budget concepts to the Oak Ridge Schools Board of Education that emphasized staffing changes, a planned consolidation of salary schedules and a guaranteed minimum pay increase for employees.
Why it matters: Staffing is the single largest district expense; the proposed salary-schedule consolidation and minimum increase would affect payroll, recruitment and the district’s FY 2026 spending priorities.
Ms. Van Dyke summarized the budget concept as a “50,000-foot” overview of planning work and said the board’s executive group decided to focus this year on staffing. She said the district is consolidating salary schedules and creating “a new salary schedule for next year, and that all of our employees will get a minimum of a 5% increase on that.” The presentation described the increase as a floor rather than a guarantee of identical percentage adjustments for all roles.
Staff projected an increase of about 79 students for the next school year, Ms. Van Dyke said, and the district noted that enrollment projections are fluid. Enrollment staff reported a district total of 4,799 students as of the Thursday enrollment report dated April 24; Lauren Dean reminded the board that enrollment can change by 10 students in a single day.
Other budget items and assumptions discussed included: - A decrease in licensed staff retirement contribution rate to 5.77% (state-provided actuarial rate), with nonlicensed staff benefit costs remaining the same. - Health insurance rates were not yet final; vision and life insurance costs are expected to remain steady while dental rates may rise slightly (figures just received and not yet incorporated). - A district request to the City of Oak Ridge for $700,000 in maintenance-of-effort funding; the board was told city action on that request was still pending. - Planned capital and operations items were noted: continued schedule of ESG (Energy Savings Grant/phase) payments (payment 8 of 15 for phase 1 and payment 5 of 20 for phase 2 noted in presentation) and use of set-aside funds to purchase laptops for grades 5–12.
Ms. Van Dyke told the board a budget document would be delivered to trustees later in the week and that work sessions, including a line-by-line review and a May adoption meeting, were scheduled. Board members asked few substantive questions during the presentation and expressed support for recognizing staff work during summer programs.
Ending: The board will continue the FY26 budget process in upcoming work sessions and is scheduled to adopt a budget in May.
