Granville County board approves county funding request, device purchase and most consent items

The Granville County School Board on March 3 approved its packet to the county requesting local funding for the 2026–27 budget, authorized a student-device purchase necessary for state testing, and approved its consent agenda with one policy (1810, Board Advisory Council) removed for further consideration.

Board finance staff told members the district’s 2025–26 operating budget is roughly $98 million and noted a 9% enrollment decline over three years. Ms. Hines said preliminary planning allotments from the state show a $1.7 million reduction in the district’s low-wealth allotment compared with last year, a change she described to the board as returning that fund to 2024–25 levels. “The lowest amount we’re going to receive is 1.7 million dollars just in this one fund of low wealth money,” she said. Staff said the funding change increases the district’s planning shortfall to roughly $2.0–$2.1 million after other expected adjustments.

As part of the funding packet the board approved, staff included two measured expansion requests: $33,000 for a Leader in Me exploratory year at Tar River (an introductory, nonbinding year before a possible three-year commitment) and recurring funding for instructional coaches. The board voted to forward the full packet to county officials and schedule a review meeting with county leaders.

On technology, staff presented a student-device refresh focused on sixth- and ninth-grade cohorts to ensure devices used for state testing are under warranty. The district requested roughly 1,000 devices plus licensing at a projected total of $376,769. The presenter described the purchase as meeting an unfunded testing mandate; one board member noted the state provides no device funding for mandated testing. The motion to approve the device refresh passed by voice vote.

The consent agenda — several routine approvals discussed at committee — was approved with one exception. Board members removed policy 1810 (Board Advisory Council) from the consent list for additional review and asked administration to return it to the policy committee for further discussion.

The board also approved routine budget amendments (including a capital outlay placeholder to accommodate a state bus replacement) and certified/classified personnel actions.

What’s next: Finance staff said they will bring specific adjustment proposals to the finance committee to address the newly reported state funding reduction and to refine the strategy for covering the projected $2 million shortfall.