UCPS board accepts superintendent’s 2026–27 budget recommendation, seeks roughly $8.4 million from county to preserve teacher supplements

The Union County Board of Education voted to accept the superintendent’s recommended 2026–27 budget recommendation and will seek additional local funding from the county to preserve teacher compensation and cover projected state funding reductions.

Dr. Andrew G. Hulahan, UCPS superintendent, introduced the recommendation and said the board’s action tonight was to accept the recommendation for further refinement before a board approval vote on May 5. “Once that occurs, we will be working together between now and the May board meeting to make any edits or modifications,” he said.

Finance presenter Miss Mclam detailed assumptions and line‑item projections tied to uncertain state action, enrollment declines and rising operating costs. She presented a proposed operating budget in the neighborhood of $153 million with approximately $20.9 million in operating capital. The presentation characterized the total local request as an increase over the current year and showed several scenario calculations; presenters repeatedly emphasized the figures were projections and subject to change as state numbers finalize.

A central issue presented to the board was the district’s anticipated loss of a state supplemental payment that has been tied to county taxable property values. Miss Mclam said Union County’s taxable property calculation for the coming year exceeded the eligibility threshold (presented in the meeting as $51.288 billion vs. the $50.9 billion threshold), which would make UCPS ineligible for the one‑time state supplement that has previously amounted to about $950–$1,000 per eligible teacher (the presenter cited $962 for the current year). The district described three possible responses: (1) the General Assembly could change the threshold, (2) the county could provide additional local funding to replace the lost state supplement, or (3) the district could redirect local budget lines.

To keep certified staff “whole,” the administration told the board it is requesting additional local funding to replace the projected loss and to fund a proposed $2,000 local increase to the certified supplement schedule. The administration presented an additional local ask to the county in the range cited during the meeting of roughly $8.4 million; presenters said that amount would cover mandated costs and make significant progress toward funding the local supplement increase, while acknowledging final numbers will depend on actions by the state and the county.

Board members used the Q&A to press for specifics about fund balance impacts, the timing of the taxable property calculation and how charter school pass‑through payments affect the local ask. Miss Mclam said the district’s planning allotment and per‑pupil calculations are based on the higher of two current‑year enrollment counts and that enrollment declines will reduce state allotments by categorical programs (the presentation estimated a loss of a little over $10 million across state categories tied to enrollment). She also said charter school payments must increase proportionately if the district’s local allocation rises.

Board members then moved to accept the superintendent’s recommendation (a procedural acceptance that advances the proposal for board action in May). The motion to accept the recommendation passed by voice vote.

What happens next: the board will take any final edits at its May meeting and then formally request a county allocation; the Board of County Commissioners will decide the county’s appropriation for UCPS in June.

Clarifying details presented at the meeting included (as stated by the administration): the proposed operating budget figure (~$153 million), operating capital (~$20.9 million), an additional local ask to the county presented as roughly $8.4 million to address mandated costs and a proposed $2,000 local increase to the certified supplement schedule, and the taxable property threshold cited as $50.9 billion with Union County’s presented calculation at $51.288 billion. Presenters emphasized the numbers are preliminary and contingent on a final state budget and county action.