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Public hearing opens on FY2026 budget; residents urge better pay and staff support, board weighs enrollment study
Summary
During an initial public hearing on the FY2026 budget, residents urged the board to seek funding for staff pay, safety and programs. Staff recommended a targeted 10-year enrollment projection study (lower cost than a full housing study) to inform planning and carryover requests to the Board of Supervisors.
The board opened the fiscal year 2026 budget public hearing at 7:00 p.m. and heard directly from residents about pay, safety and program priorities.
Ashley Crocker, speaking during the public-hearing segment, told the board she left last month's budget seminar "concerned and alarmed" and urged the board and supervisors to fund a budget that reflects the division's actual needs. "Our school staff are wildly underpaid... Our budget for this year is at the bare minimum of what we need to keep the schools open and running," she said.
Superintendent Dr. Stribling outlined options for getting better planning data: Cooperative Strategies and others can provide a comprehensive housing-and-enrollment study at about $30,000 that includes broader community projections, or the division can commission a focused 10-year enrollment-projection study at a lower cost. Staff and board members generally favored the targeted enrollment-projection approach, which would deliver school-specific enrollment forecasts useful for capacity planning. The board was told the Board of Supervisors will entertain carryover requests next week, and the division has requested funding for security and a $30,000 earmark for a demographic or enrollment study in prior discussions.
Board members and staff also reviewed recent fiscal-year reporting: FY25 revenue and expenditures are tracking as expected but staff flagged that enrollment-driven state revenue may trend lower and that the division is currently about 47 students below prior estimates, a driver of potential state funding shortfalls.
Next steps: staff recommended pursuing the targeted enrollment-projection study pending supervisor carryover decisions and will return with a draft prioritization for FY26 based on staff and teacher feedback about pay and service priorities.
