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District presents FY27 budget, new transparency portal and ROI toolkit at budget workshop
Summary
District staff presented the proposed FY27 budget totaling $1.763 billion, announced a public transparency portal to launch after second reading, previewed an academic ROI toolkit tied to weighted student funding and outlined major investments including special education FTEs and a base teacher pay increase to $67,500.
District finance and instructional staff presented the FY27 recommended budget at the May 11 committee-of-the-whole workshop, highlighted key investments and previewed a transparency portal and an academic return‑on‑investment toolkit.
Presenter Mr. Prentice walked trustees through the recommended $1.763 billion FY27 budget, noting the general operating fund of about $965 million and reminding trustees that included reserves for capital and debt service are budgeted within those totals. He announced a transparency portal (built with OpenGov) that will display FY26 year‑to‑date actuals and FY27 budget‑to‑actual data; staff said it will be posted to the district website immediately following the board’s approval of second reading and will replace static PDF reports with interactive dashboards.
Instructional staff demonstrated an ROI toolkit tied to the district’s weighted student funding (WSF) program. Presenters showed anonymized examples where particular strategies — for instance, adding a guidance counselor or a general education teacher to reduce class size — produced measurable growth in formative assessments at varying cost‑per‑pupil levels. Trustees asked for simpler public explanations of the ROI methodology and were told full‑year proficiency measures (SC Ready, EOC) and final fiscal year data will be available in the fall; staff said some projections will be available as soon as October.
Significant investments highlighted: staff cited $3.2 million for 39 centrally allocated special education FTEs and roughly $1 million associated with the Thrive Day Treatment partnership with MUSC; they also noted a proposal to raise base teacher pay to $67,500 (a $2,718 across‑the‑board increase) and a 3% increase on the classified pay scale. Staff emphasized these investments are part of a broader focus on equity, WSF refinements and programmatic shifts such as a first‑zone rollout of universal pre‑K.
Why it matters: The transparency portal and ROI toolkit aim to let trustees, principals and the public see how WSF investments translate into student growth and to offer principals tools to refine strategies. Trustees pressed for clear, public‑friendly explanations and for tracking that accounts for contextual factors when comparing strategies across schools.
What’s next: Staff said they will present second‑reading items at the regular board meeting next week and launch the transparency portal to the public after board approval; additional workshops and a public hearing required by law will follow before final adoption.
