Harrison County Schools outlines 2027 budget, proposes spreading $2,000 medical allotment across paychecks

Harrison County Schools officials presented a draft 2027 budget and a set of payroll changes at the April 4 board meeting, highlighting state aid estimates, revenue mixes, and proposed adjustments to employee supplemental pay.

The presenter said total state aid for the district is about $75 million, with a reported “basic state aid” figure of roughly $51.2 million. The draft budget lists personnel costs at about $129.8 million and a total operating budget near $188 million. State sources were described as the largest revenue component of the general fund (the presenter stated roughly 58% of general fund revenues), with property taxes and federal and local funding covering the remainder. The presentation also identified an estimated beginning fund balance and stressed a 5% contingency target.

On payroll, the presenter referenced a Jan. 27, 2026 news article about Hancock County and told the board that issuing the district’s $2,000 medical allotment as a lump-sum check may violate West Virginia wage and labor law. To bring the district into compliance, the presenter proposed spreading the $2,000 allotment across regular paychecks (the 15th and 30th of each month) rather than issuing a separate annual check. “In order to move Harrison County Schools into compliance with state laws, the current level of $2,000 medical allotment will be spread over all employees’ regular paychecks,” the presenter said during the meeting.

The presenter also proposed equalizing supplements for special education staff: speech-language pathologists would be treated as special education teachers for supplement purposes, and the recommendation would raise the combined special education/SLP stipend to $700 per year. The change is intended to align pay for staff with the 2020 agreement that classified SLPs within special education.

To balance the budget, the presenter announced the recommended abolition of certain supplements, including the paraprofessional supplement and the high school athletic director pay on the extracurricular contract pay schedule. Officials said the proposed eliminations are part of the district’s approach to reach a balanced budget given personnel as the largest expense.

The board was told the district must hold a budget hearing (currently scheduled for May 5), publish the hearing notice (targeted for April 24), and submit the finalized budget to the state by the May 30 deadline; formal adoption is planned for May 19.

The presentation emphasized that the budget is contingent on the superintendent’s personnel recommendations for 2027 and that some reserve drawdown would likely be required to balance the numbers.

The board did not take a final vote on adoption at the session; discussion and scheduled hearings remain the next steps.