Pender County Schools asks county to cover rising personnel and capital costs in FY 26-27 budget

Dr. Breedlove presented the Pender County Schools’ proposed FY 26-27 budget to the county’s commissioners, asking the board to continue the county’s recent supplemental investments that district leaders say improved facility conditions and safety.

The presentation said the district uses a zero-based budgeting process and identified four priorities for next year: recruitment and retention of staff; strengthening school-based leadership; maintaining instructional supports (STEM, arts, general-ed); and advancing student support services (health, safety and social work). The budget narrative stressed that personnel account for roughly 80% of the school system’s expenses.

Breedlove told commissioners the state employer retirement contribution will rise from 24.67% to 25.76% for FY 26-27, an increase of 1.09 percentage points, and that hospitalization per full-time employee is projected to rise from $8,500 to $8,925 (about $425 more per employee). Those state-driven cost increases are part of the district’s baseline “current expense” projection: maintaining existing services would require approximately $35,939,720 in local current-expense funding.

To recruit and retain staff, the district proposed raising the local supplement for certified staff from 10.5% to 12% and for non-certified staff from 5.5% to 7%. Breedlove said the change would make Pender County more competitive with neighboring systems (he cited Brunswick, New Hanover and another nearby district in his slide remarks) and showed sample per-employee supplement amounts at different experience levels.

On staffing, the district seeks to expand “advanced teaching roles” using a three-year, $1 million grant to incentivize lead teachers to coach colleagues in classrooms; the district plans to expand the program from four schools to an additional six. The presentation also recommended adding instructional-technology facilitators, HVAC and maintenance staff, and three high-school-level general maintenance positions (one full-time maintenance employee is already assigned to Pender High School and the district proposes adding similar positions at the other high schools).

Capital requests on the district’s five-year capital improvement plan (year two) total $12,711,533 and focus on deferred maintenance, HVAC controls and transportation fleet replacement. Breedlove asked the county to consider those CIP priorities and to work with school leaders to rank projects where needs exceed available funds.

During Q&A, commissioners asked for follow-up details on graduate-level (master’s) pay supplements, confirmation that teacher supplements are added on top of state pay, comparisons to surrounding systems’ supplement policies, and the district’s ADM (average daily membership) accounting. The district said charter-school enrollments have displaced roughly 100 students in recent years and that the district’s per-pupil revenue fell by about $1,341 per pupil year-over-year — a change the school calculated as roughly a $14 million reduction across 10,692 ADM.

The school asked county staff and the school board to prioritize CIP projects and to provide the additional county support necessary to maintain current services and fund targeted investments in personnel and deferred maintenance. Breedlove closed by noting alignment with the county strategic plan goal to invest in schools and academic excellence.

The board did not act on the requests during this session; commissioners asked staff to return with requested follow-ups and line-item detail.