Lexington County School District Five approves $250.6 million FY 2025–26 general fund budget; operating millage set at 2.61 mills

The Lexington County School District Five Board of Trustees approved the third and final reading of the FY 2025–26 general fund budget on June 23, 2025, adopting a $250,580,020 spending plan, an operating millage of 2.61 mills and a debt service millage of 69.5 mills. The board also approved fund balance assignments totaling $7,455,197. The final vote on the budget carried 4 to 3.

The budget includes a district-led teacher salary increase (presented in the budget materials as a $1,000-per-cell raise in the district’s preferred scenario), support staff raises of 2 percent, a bus-driver 2 percent increase, six permanent clinical counselors converted from prior ESSER funding and the addition of several administrative and operational positions. Administration recommended assigning $3,000,000 to an employee retention incentive, $400,000 for NAREIT payments, $3,500,000 for capital and equipment expenditures and $555,000 to reserve funding for six full-time positions for critical needs.

Miss Tucker, presenting the public hearing and the third and final reading, said, “So today is our public hearing and third and final reading for our general fund budget.” The presentation reviewed state and local revenue assumptions, changes to state provisos and one-time or shifting costs. Tucker told the board the district used conservative state revenue estimates and highlighted that local revenues make up roughly 37–38 percent of the proposed budget while state revenues account for about 62 percent.

Why this matters: The budget the board approved funds teacher-pay increases tied to new state minimums and the district’s local schedule changes; establishes the six clinical counselors as permanent, general-funded FTEs (previously funded with ESSER during a transition year); and assigns fund balance dollars to retention, capital and contingency needs. Trustees debated how much of the new spending should go to staff/administration versus directly to reading and math interventions for students.

Key details and contested points

- Budget total and millage: The adopted FY 2025–26 general fund budget is $250,580,020. The board approved lowering the operating millage to 2.61 mills (the administration’s recommendation) and leaving the debt service millage at 69.5 mills. The motion to approve the budget passed 4–3.

- Fund balance assignments: The board approved designating $7,455,197 in fund balance for four specific uses: $3,000,000 employee retention incentive; $400,000 NAREIT payments; $3,500,000 capital/equipment expenditures; and $555,000 reserved for six FTEs for critical needs.

- Compensation and staffing: Administration said roughly $13.9 million in total salary-and-benefit increases are included when all proposals are tallied; the budget narrative presented a $9.8 million salaries-and-fringe increase compared with the current year for the adopted budget baseline, with roughly half of the increase attributable to the teacher-salary schedule change described as the district’s highest stakeholder priority. Presenters said support-staff 2 percent increases and other scheduled steps account for much of the remaining difference.

- Positions and programs: The budget includes six clinical counselors moved from ESSER to permanent funding, two AP/assistant principal-type positions tied to converting two intermediate schools to middle schools (to support the transition), two afternoon maintenance custodian teams (six positions total), two HR onboarding/offboarding coordinators and several activity/athletic and band supplements. Administration also proposed maintaining some previously state-funded instructional technologies and an addition of $400,000 for AI and other instructional technology costs beginning next year.

Board debate and amendments

Trustees discussed several procedural and programmatic amendments before final approval. One board member moved to divide the budget vote into separate questions for the operating budget, debt service millage and fund balance assignments; that effort failed. Another proposal to reallocate $900,000 of proposed supplemental/athletic and other increases to reading and math recovery programs was moved and seconded but failed 4–3. The board chair and other trustees said they supported the adopted package because administration had factored state mandates and the district’s priorities into the recommendation.

Public comment

During the public hearing, Dina Marlow of Richland County spoke against what she described as another tax increase for Richland County residents, saying, “My taxes went up last year ... Not everyone has the money to pay for all these taxes that y’all are trying to get.” Marlow said she felt the board’s decision would hurt Richland County residents and expressed frustration about property-tax impacts on households without school-age children.

Clarity on state factors and local effect

Tucker and other staff explained that state provisos and bills influenced the budget: the presentation referenced Proviso 1.3 (adjustments affecting virtual charter schools), Proviso 108.6 (a state health-plan employer premium increase effective in the 2026 plan year) and H.3196 (an educator-assistance act that modifies teacher certification and experience credit). Administration noted the district receives only a portion of any state-mandated teacher-salary increases and that local revenue assumptions and reassessments in Lexington and Richland counties factored into rollback and millage calculations.

Votes at a glance (motions and final outcomes recorded in the meeting minutes)

- Approve agenda — Approved, motion carries 7–0. - Enter executive session (personnel, contracts, data-security incident, superintendent evaluation) — Approved, motion carries 7–0. - Approve minutes of June 9, 2025 board meeting — Approved, motion carries 7–0. - Approve selected employment items as shown in Exhibit A — Approved, motion carries 7–0 (an amendment to defer hiring of a specified line item failed 4–3 before the full motion passed). - Conclude that Superintendent Ross received an overall satisfactory evaluation for 2024–25 — Motion made and discussion recorded (no roll-call tally printed in the transcript); board then moved to contract extension. - Extend Superintendent Ross’s contract by one year (resulting from the evaluation) — Approved, motion carries 4–3. - Approve contractual matter regarding Irmo High School Phase 2 (Exhibit C) — Approved, motion carries 7–0. - Approve district attorney listing for 2025–26 (Exhibit E) — Approved, motion carries 7–0. - Establish procurement review panel (Exhibit F) — Approved, motion carries 7–0 (board discussion and nominations for panel chair were held; final chair election was deferred). - Third and final reading of the FY 2025–26 general fund budget ($250,580,020) with operating millage at 2.61 mills, debt service 69.5 mills and fund-balance assignments of $7,455,197 — Approved, motion carries 4–3. Multiple motions to split the vote and one amendment to reallocate $900,000 to reading/math recovery failed prior to final passage. - Adjourn — Approved, motion carries 7–0.

What’s next

Administration said it will continue to refine implementation details and return with additional program-level plans and numerical breakdowns in follow-up meetings. The board requested more specific proposals on reading and math recovery options at the July 21 meeting so trustees can see how the adopted budget will be deployed for student interventions.

Ending note

The board’s vote closes the formal budget-adoption process for FY 2025–26; the administration said it will proceed with onboarding the positions and implementing fund-balance assignments while continuing to update the board and the public as planned.