Hamblen County school officials outline near-balanced budget, propose 2% raise and ask to retain bond savings

Hamblen County Department of Education officials presented the district’s proposed budget to the county commission, saying the plan was “very close” to balanced and asking the commission to permit keeping $300,000 of unspent bond funds for finishing work at Lincoln Elementary.

The district official said the proposal includes a 2% pay raise for employees that would raise the district’s starting teacher salary to about $50,767, up from $49,772 now, meeting the state mandate and keeping the district modestly above the statewide minimum. “When we do that, we will be at a position that the starting teacher salary will be $50,767,” the presenter said.

Why it matters: the package tries to reconcile state mandates, rising health‑insurance costs and falling student enrollment. District leaders said the state’s funding formulas and a finding of “significant disproportionality” in special‑education identification require setting aside some funds and will force the district to pay for roughly 4.5 teacher‑assistant positions out of the general fund this year.

The presentation reviewed capital work completed and planned: Lincoln Elementary’s construction punch list is finished and two new playgrounds are in place; middle‑school classroom enclosure projects were completed more quickly than expected thanks to bond proceeds; and the district plans to start work on John Hay Elementary on or about June 15 with an approximately 365‑day performance period. Officials said bond and ARPA dollars had allowed much of the work to proceed and that roughly $2.356 million would remain available if the commission allowed the $300,000 retention request.

On staffing, the district said it is proposing a net reduction of 15 certified teaching positions driven by enrollment declines, to be achieved through attrition rather than layoffs. The presenter said the estimated savings from those teacher reductions is about $1.2 million. The district also said it had kept a number of ESSER‑funded positions that proved effective (reading interventionists and instructional facilitators) but had removed others as federal time‑limited funding ended.

Student counts and outcomes: the presenter said the district’s growth score was a five — “we're raising the education of the kids” — and highlighted gains among multilingual learners, Hispanic students, students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students. But the district noted an ongoing challenge: roughly two of three incoming kindergarteners are not meeting kindergarten readiness benchmarks (presenter cited a figure, 66.7%), and third‑grade test expectations remain a key focus of early-literacy interventions.

Other program notes: the school nutrition program continues to provide free breakfasts and lunches to students through a state program and plans a summer bulk‑feeding operation that officials estimate will serve more than 50,000 meals at three sites; SRO coverage remains a priority, and the district credited the sheriff’s office for expanding DARE and school‑safety work.

Next steps: the district said its board will have a working session and a special meeting on May 19 and hopes to finalize and approve the budget next week. The presenter asked the county to consider allowing the school system to retain $300,000 of returned bond funds to finish exterior topsoil and grass at Lincoln Elementary.

Provenance: presentation and Q&A, SEG 025–SEG 1666.

Speakers quoted or referenced: the presentation and quoted passages are attributed to the school district official who briefed the commission (name not recorded in the public transcript).