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Cannon County school leaders outline budget pressures and staffing requests as TISA figures shift
Summary
District staff warned that TISA funding remains fluid, urged planning for a $50,000 starting-teacher base, and listed staffing requests including expanded tutor staffing, custodial scheduling changes, bus contract renegotiation and more — with estimated costs and state mandates still in flux.
Bonnie, a Cannon County district administrator, told the board at a budget meeting that the district is watching state funding closely and preparing staffing requests for next year. "I just want to caution you, the voucher bill has passed. There's still time for caption bills to be introduced," she said, adding that the district will review TISA allocations when data are available.
District staff said the governor's proposed TISA base for next year is $7,295 — about a $225 increase per student — but cautioned that the formula is data-driven and could change. Bonnie said a recent hold-harmless calculation would limit some protections to 75%, which she estimated could still leave the district about $100,000 below last year’s funding levels, down from an earlier estimate of roughly $500,000.
Why it matters: District officials said uncertainty in the state funding picture will affect how much the school system can commit to raises and programs. Staff asked the board to consider moving the starting teacher salary toward $50,000 next year to remain competitive with neighboring counties.
Staff presented a list of budget priorities and requests. Those included: - Teacher pay: Several speakers urged raising the starting salary; Bonnie said she would start calculating salary schedules with a $50,000 base. No final board decision or vote occurred at the meeting. - Tutoring mandate and costs: Staff outlined a state-driven tutoring requirement for third-grade students not meeting expectations on TCAP and for retained K–3 students. Retired certified teachers are the preferred tutors; staff estimated a cost of more than $200,000 to sustain current tutoring levels and suggested an approximate cost of $17,000 per retired-teacher tutor per year in one scenario. Staff said the tutoring program referenced in materials would be ELA-only to meet state requirements; the district currently provides both ELA and math but cannot fund the full current level under existing revenue projections. - Staffing reassignments and hires: Principals requested making a current part-time assistant principal (Britton) full-time to allow more time for classroom and instructional leadership and asked for a full- or part-time librarian. Staff cautioned that changing instructional staffing can affect federal comparability requirements and must be reported annually. - Noncertified staff and custodians: Staff asked the board to consider additional paid leave for custodians (including snow days and additional Christmas days), noting custodians work year-round and that the district is understaffed in many buildings. No cost estimate for the proposed custodial adjustments was finalized; staff said they would return with figures. - Bus contracting: The district's contracted bus-driver agreement is scheduled to expire Aug. 1; staff said the district will need to negotiate a new contract with the contractor and that only two contracted drivers currently service routes through rails. Preliminary contractor proposals were described as "on the back end" and further details will be provided in contract negotiations. - School psychologist schedule: Staff proposed moving the school psychologist (Lisa) from a 10-month to an 11-month schedule to handle a rise in referrals and to meet evaluation timelines. Staff reported referrals have roughly doubled from typical annual levels (from about 14–16 to more than 30 on current caseloads), and the psychologist has required contracted help to catch up on evaluations. No cost or contract change was finalized at the meeting. - CTE staffing and grant sunset: Staff said a grant has funded a full-time CTE director (Crystal) and that the grant funding is declining; staff urged planning to sustain the position in future budgets.
District staff repeatedly framed many of the requests as contingent on final TISA allocations and potential legislative changes. No formal motions or votes were taken at the meeting; staff said another budget meeting will be held in March to finalize figures.
Speakers quoted above and referenced in this article included Bonnie (district administrator), Kathy (school administrator), Amanda (building principal), Britton (assistant principal, current part-time), Lisa (school psychologist), Crystal (CTE director), and Manfred (IT/operations staff).
