Collierville board approves 3% COLA, one-time bonuses and 2025–26 calendar changes

The Collierville School Board approved a proposed fiscal-year budget that includes a 3% cost-of-living increase for all employees, new step increases for eligible teachers, and a district-funded $500 one-time bonus for qualifying employees, board members said Monday.

The budget the board approved also includes a $250 one-time bonus for qualifying substitutes, the district will absorb an increase in health-insurance costs rather than pass it to employees, and officials allocated $6,224,491 toward teacher salaries and benefits. “The cost-of-living increase is a 3% increase for all employees for the next school year,” Dr. Dyer, superintendent, said during the presentation.

Why it matters: The board’s vote sets local spending priorities and staffing levels for the coming school year, but the budget must also be submitted to the town government for final adoption. The board’s approval starts the statutory process that leads to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen presentation on May 27 and expected town-level adoption on June 9, officials said.

Most important details

Budget and pay: The proposed budget contains a 3% COLA for all employees, step increases for eligible staff and a new step 20 for teachers. In addition to the district $500 bonus for qualifying employees and $250 for qualifying substitutes, the state is providing a $2,000 one-time payment defined by state law for employees classified as teachers; those state funds will be distributed after July 1, officials said.

Staffing and programs: The budget adds 15 general-education teachers, five special-education teachers, two career and technical education teachers, one counselor and a pilot adding two instructional-coach positions at each middle school. The district also plans an Apple device refresh for students and purchase of Raptor wearable alert badges for staff to speed emergency response.

Revenues, reserves and funds: The presentation reported a projected enrollment of 9,509 students for 2025–26 (about 200 students higher than last year, according to a district staff estimate). The superintendent said the district plans to use about $6.9 million from reserves in the budget. The school nutrition fund is projected at about $4.4 million; federal funds were listed at about $4.9 million; other discretionary funds at about $1.5 million; and the capital projects fund at about $3.4 million.

Calendar changes: The board also approved revisions to the 2025–26 instructional calendar to shift a professional-development day to Presidents’ Day and give teachers the Monday after Easter off, providing a four-day Easter weekend for staff and students. Principal Jones, who presented the calendar changes, said the district obtained the commissioner’s approval for the calendar modification on the morning of the meeting. Jones also said the district will expand new-teacher orientation from two days to five days (new teachers will be paid a stipend for those added days) to accommodate Capturing Kids’ Hearts training and other onboarding activities.

Procedure and next steps: Board members moved to approve the budget and the instructional calendar during the meeting and the motions passed. District staff said the next step is submission to the town government for the required approvals and final adoption at the town level.

Votes and roll calls: During the meeting the board took roll calls at several points. Named “yes” responses recorded on the budget motion included Board Member Baylor, Board Member Chambers and Board Member Johnson; the roll-call procedure was handled by Miss McElroy. The transcript does not record a complete tally for every board member in the excerpt provided. The board chair called for submission of the approved budget to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for final adoption on the town schedule.

Context and limitations: Officials said some revenue numbers are estimates and will change as final state and county figures are received. The $2,000 state teacher bonus is governed by state law and will be distributed after July 1; the district bonus and substitute bonus require employees to meet minimum work-day requirements to qualify. The budget presentation used enrollment projections produced with PowerSchool Analytics; the superintendent said the projection will be updated if actual August enrollment differs from the current estimate.

Ending: The board approved consent items and moved other routine business forward, and the district will present the budget to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on May 27 before final town-level action.