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Board reviews FY27 budget model that adds safety staff and requests one‑time equipment funding
Summary
At the May 19 work session, staff presented a FY27 planning model that includes county funds, increased health‑care and special‑education allocations, a package of safety upgrades and eight new youth engagement advocates; staff said some state numbers remain preliminary and that $430,000 in one‑time equipment funding is being requested from commissioners.
Miss Acton presented the fiscal‑year 2027 planning model and cautioned that state aid figures remain preliminary. She said the plan includes county funding of $13,138,461 (as reported) and placeholder state numbers. Acton called out several increases and offsets: higher collective‑bargaining assumptions and a $4 million increase in health‑care costs; utility increases of about $334,000; transportation increases tied to a new contract (about $2,000,001); and a $5 million addition for special education. To balance the plan, Acton said the district eliminated six central office positions (about $663,000) and reduced 47 unfilled positions (about $2,000,006), cut $500,000 from the open budget and removed $1,000,000 from teaching and learning lines, putting the planning model roughly into balance.
Acton and the superintendent discussed safety proposals that county leaders will review. Dr. Navarro said the superintendent's request includes eight additional "youth engagement advocates" as ongoing staff and a request to county commissioners for roughly $430,000 in one‑time equipment funds for portable weapon‑detection devices, upgraded indoor cameras and community education startup costs. Navarro said the plan calls for training staff to operate portable devices, rotating deployments to avoid predictability and using community partners including the sheriff's office and state attorney for education programs.
Board members pressed for clarity on how vacancy savings and reductions would affect flexibility and class‑size management; Acton said the 47 positions are largely unfilled and therefore reduce available reserves for unanticipated staffing needs. Members also raised lifecycle costs for new equipment (training, calibration and software upgrades); Navarro said startup costs were expected to carry devices for an initial period of about five years and that the district would look for recurring funding sources and use state safety council funds where possible.
The presentation did not produce a vote. Board members requested additional cost‑of‑ownership details and asked staff to continue pursuing MOE (maintenance‑of‑effort) exclusions where appropriate so one‑time purchases do not become recurring obligations.
