Budget committee recommends $342,444 from school fund balance to restore athletic and fine-arts supplements; committee vote 3–2

The Cheatham County budget committee voted to forward three transfers affecting the school system, including a $342,444 transfer from school fund balance to restore and increase supplements for coaches and fine-arts staff that have not been reviewed since 2016.

"We went through every sport, every theater, band, choir, music, and we agreed upon what we felt was a good start to this program," Stacy, the director of schools, told commissioners, describing a multi-month process and a matrix used to assign tiers for supplement pay.

The three items taken together included $148,386.43 from an Innovative School Models grant to purchase grant-related equipment and $42,205 from a United Way 'Raise Your Hand' grant for after-school tutoring staff; the $342,444 transfer was proposed to increase recurring supplements for athletics and fine arts. The budget committee reported a 3–2 vote in committee to advance those items.

School officials said the district’s fund balance stood at about $12 million after year-end adjustments and that the board delayed finalizing supplements until they knew the fund-balance outlook. Officials estimated the proposed changes would affect roughly 125–150 positions (head and assistant coaches and arts personnel) across tiers and emphasized the payments cover work outside the regular school day.

Commissioners asked whether the supplement increases should have been included in the annual budget; school officials said some items (insurance, late adjustments) cannot be fully projected and that the board chose a measured approach after internal review.

The full commission will consider the transfers at its next meeting; committee members said they will present the committee recommendation and the school board’s rationale for timing and scope.