Board, staff and community outline budget priorities: behavior techs, more GATE teachers, SROs and a $1 million food-service request

Trustees and school leaders spent more than an hour laying out priorities for the fiscal 2026 budget, identifying staffing and program requests they say address student safety, literacy and career-technical offerings while finance staff warned the system faces a multi-million-dollar shortfall.

Superintendent Dr. Townsville led the discussion and described a set of board priorities that included adding behavioral support staff in elementary schools, expanding gifted-and-talented (GATE) coverage, reconsidering assistant principal allocations at some high schools, funding ROTC/CTE instructors and improving food service. Chief financial staff provided expenditure figures and cautioned the board about the district’s fiscal position.

Staff told the board the system currently has roughly 76 open positions — described during the discussion as 42 support-staff vacancies and 34 certificated (professional) vacancies — and that some classroom roles are being covered by long-term substitutes. Finance staff reported that year-to-date expenditures as of Dec. 31 were $133,790,926.

Key board priorities and cost details discussed

- Behavior technicians: Board members requested a behavior technician…