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Alcoa board approves $33.4 million 2026–27 budget, grants tenure and clears field trips
Summary
The Alcoa City Schools board approved a $33,415,000 general purpose budget for 2026–27 that includes a 2% pay increase and a higher beginning teacher salary; the board also granted tenure to multiple teachers and approved several student field trips in unanimous votes.
The Alcoa City Schools Board of Education approved the district’s 2026–27 general purpose budget totaling $33,415,000, the board heard in the finance report and voted to adopt after a staff presentation.
Finance staff summarized key elements of the plan, including a 2% raise for certified and non‑certified employees, an increase in the beginning teacher salary from $53,300 to $54,370 and the addition of a 16th step for non‑certified staff. "The recommendation is that you approve the 2026 2027 general purpose budget in the amount of $33,415,000," a finance presenter told the board. The motion to adopt carried on a recorded roll call: Board members Bledsoe, Brown, Chair Kirk, Marsh and Rochelle voted yes.
In the same meeting the board approved a slate of personnel and routine items. A motion to defer action on the director of schools contract until May passed by roll call. The board then voted to grant tenure to a group of teachers across the district, naming recipients from AES, AIS, AMS and Alcoa High School who, the presenter said, "have met all the criteria for receiving tenure in Alcoa City Schools." The board also approved multiple field trips — including SkillsUSA in Atlanta (June 1, 2026), an Alcoa High yearbook trip to Athens, Ga. (July 10–12, 2026), a volleyball trip to Chattanooga (July 10–12, 2026) and a band trip with dates noted — in a bundled vote.
Policy updates moved forward as first readings. The board approved first readings for policy 1.404 (appeals and appearances before the board), policy 2.400 (revenues, updated to reflect state guidance on discontinuing pennies and rounding to the nearest nickel) and policy 6.411 (coordinated school health program changes aligned to state board language). The presenter cited recent state legislation (House Bill 22 and Senate Bill 178) as the basis for allowing public comment on nonagenda items.
The board also approved replacing a specialized copier at the middle school under a state contract; finance staff said the new Canon contract would increase the monthly base from roughly $2,959 to about $3,211 plus per‑copy charges.
All recorded votes reported in the meeting transcript on these items registered affirmative votes from the five board members present. The meeting included public comment noting that the city’s appropriation to the district has not increased in years; one commenter said the city’s share fell from about 19.75% of the district budget in 2016–17 to roughly 12.03 percent in the most recent calculation.
The board set a follow‑up window for the deferred director contract item and scheduled its next meeting for May 19. The meeting record provided lists of the teachers approved for tenure and dates/destinations for approved trips for the public record.
