Supervisors and school board debate pay parity, targeted staffing and special-education costs

School officials used their FY2027 presentation to highlight priorities that center on staff retention, student support programs and facility needs; several board members focused extended discussion on pay parity, targeted staff increases and special-education pressures.

School leaders described a request that, in various references during the meeting, was characterized as roughly $8.2 million in total additional funding (figures and percentage-change references varied in the transcript). A central concern among supervisors was whether a one‑time large increase — repeatedly discussed in the meeting as a 12% or similar raise in some references — is feasible or preferable to a phased, multi‑year approach. "It's possible. It's not really feasible at this point where the budget is," one supervisor said, urging incremental planning instead of a single large increase.

School presenters explained some of the drivers behind personnel requests: compression of steps in pay scales and the cost impacts of changing step structures, targeted increases to address recruitment and retention for roles such as bus drivers and HVAC/facilities, and a list of support positions that would be affected if the boards approve the requested increases. Officials said recent targeted pay increases for bus drivers and facilities positions were funded in part by savings from long-term unfilled positions.

On staffing, school leaders asked for six additional assistant principals (APs) in the budget; presenters said three of those were targeted to large elementary schools (Falling Branch and Auburn Elementary) so each school would have at least one AP and to ensure administrators can attend special‑education identification meetings. A school official said administrators are required to be in those meetings and that splitting administrators between many schools can lead to service denials for students with special needs.

Several supervisors and school board members emphasized the difficulty of comparing county and school employee paybands because job descriptions and qualification requirements often differ. They suggested a joint, multi‑year plan and more communication between the county administrator and the superintendent rather than sudden budget changes: "Let's lay out a plan... and not be so knee‑jerk to do 12% right now," one supervisor said.

Special-education costs and student-performance measures were discussed as a key budget pressure. A school official noted a recent sharp increase in special-education enrollment and urged that targeted staff and paraprofessional support are part of addressing plateauing SOL scores. A staff member gave SOL context: a 74.53% pass rate in 2024 (rank 37 of 131 divisions) that improved to 76.5% in 2025 (rank 30 of 131), underscoring both progress and persistent targeted needs.

What happens next: Board members agreed to continue joint discussions, requested more detailed position-level cost breakdowns and encouraged the county and school leadership to pursue a cooperative multi-year approach to compensation and staffing decisions rather than a single large immediate increase.