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DOE asks for $1.4 million to cover AP exams, $1 million for charter expansion and $750,000 pilot for mental-health billing
Summary
The Department of Education told the committee it needs an additional $1,400,000 to cover AP exam costs in FY2026 (and requested that amount again for FY2027), proposed a $1,000,000 one-time planning grant to expand Southern Rivers Completion High School to six sites, and seeks $750,000 for a pilot to test an electronic claims engine for school-based mental-health services.
Russ, the Department of Education's chief financial officer, presented highlights of DOE's amended FY2026 budget and the FY2027 request, noting both large supplemental sums and one-time investments.
Russ said the budget includes a $2,000 supplement totaling about $368,000,000 across DOE programs (including FICA) to cover classroom teachers, central and school administrative positions, non-QBE staff, lunchroom workers, custodians, bus drivers and school nurses. "This does include the FICA, and it's the same methodology, as a supplement that we sent out and amended fiscal year 2024," he said.
Charter and completion-school support: DOE described a $1,000,000 one-time planning grant for Southern Rivers Completion High School to expand to six sites, with detailed budgets shared with staff that include construction, curriculum and staffing costs. When asked how the department calculated the $1,000,000 figure, Russ said the department reviewed detailed budget requests and comparable startup costs from other initiatives.
Special-needs and student support: DOE reported a roughly $44,000,000 increase tied to enrollment shifts in higher-cost categories and said the governor's office contributed about $14.5 million; DOE expects additional upward adjustments based on newly reported third-quarter counts and will provide updated figures later in the day. The department also proposed increasing funding for student social-work services so districts that previously fell short of qualifying thresholds receive prorated funding for one social worker.
Mental-health billing pilot: DOE proposed a $750,000 one-time pilot to test an electronic health-record claims engine that would help schools submit claims for school-based mental-health services; the goal is to see if schools can generate revenue to reduce reliance on state dollars.
Exam funding shortfall: DOE said PSAT invoices arrived below initial estimates (roughly $1.49 million), producing a small saving, but the state still faces an AP exam shortfall and asked for an additional $1,400,000 in the amended FY2026 budget and again for FY2027 to cover AP exam costs. "We are asking for an additional $1,400,000 in order to satisfy that requirement," Russ said.
Committee action: Members asked for more documentation, including the Southern Rivers detailed budget and clarification on the number of districts for the mental-health pilot; DOE said it had not fixed the pilot district list and would provide further detail on request. No votes were recorded at the meeting.
