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Budget briefing warns state pay increases still leave district shortfalls; two scenarios presented
Summary
District budget staff told trustees the $2,000 state teacher increase and step requirements could leave the district facing either a $600,000 gap under a minimal scenario or about $2.6 million under a scenario that matches state increases and provides COLA to all staff; staff plan an April 17 legislative briefing with a district dashboard to show shortfalls.
A district staff member gave the board a detailed budget update and presented two compensation scenarios that would affect teachers and other employees.
Staff said Q2 assessments put the district’s assessed value at roughly $94,000,000 and reported an operating mill rate of 231.8. Using conservative collection assumptions, the presenter said projected local tax revenue and state revenue shifts do not fully cover required salary step increases and a potential $2,000 state teacher schedule increase.
The presenter outlined two scenarios. Scenario 1 (minimum compliance and step increases only) was described as roughly a $600,000 cost; scenario 2 (matching a $2,000 teacher increase, adding step increases and a roughly 3% COLA applied across other staff scales) was estimated at about $2.6 million. "If you look at scenario 1, that's just doing the bare minimum... You're looking at a $600,000 cost. If you look at scenario 2, you are looking at about $2,600,000," the staff member said.
Staff emphasized that those are preliminary estimates and that the district is awaiting Q3 assessment data, senate revenue projections and the local growth percentage tied to CPI before finalizing revenue numbers. The presenter also described planned advocacy: the district will host an April 17 meeting with legislators and bring a district dashboard showing how state funding changes translate to local shortfalls.
Trustees probed staffing implications for a new middle school, the burden of benefits on teacher cost, and options such as adjusting millage. Staff also reviewed prioritized personnel requests: Phase 1 items included two full‑time GT teachers, a transportation bookkeeper and an attendance data specialist for the high school; Phase 2 included three elementary office support FTEs and a maintenance technician. A trustee asked for a deeper briefing on the attendance data specialist role and supporting evidence before any approval of new FTEs.
Next steps: staff will await Q3 assessment figures and senate projections, share a refined revenue picture at the next meeting and present the legislative dashboard on April 17. No formal budget votes or millage decisions were made at this meeting.
