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Anderson County board gives budget first reading with pay increases, new CTE and mental-health positions
Summary
The Anderson County Board of Education approved a proposed operating budget on first reading that projects just over $80 million next year, includes a 2% raise for certified staff and a $0.50 hourly boost for classified staff, and preserves middle-school CTE positions and most mental-health staffing after a grant sunsets.
The Anderson County Board of Education on its May meeting gave a proposed fiscal 2026–27 operating budget a first reading that projects "just a little more than $80,000,000" for the coming year and asks the board to approve the plan for further refinement before submission to the County Commission.
Director of Schools (referred to in the meeting as "Director") summarized the largest elements of the proposal, saying the increase from last year (about $79.08 million) is under $1 million. The Director said the budget seeks to continue four career-and-technical-education positions at the middle-school level that had been funded by a grant, and to retain "2 and a half" mental-health positions after a grant sunsets, a retention estimated at $185,000.
The proposal includes compensation changes: a 2% raise for all certified staff, estimated at $1,150,000, and a $0.50-per-hour increase for classified staff, estimated at about $357,000. It also adds modest step increases at the 5-, 10- and 20-year marks, intended to improve local competitiveness. The Director said transportation and insurance costs are rising—transportation about $100,000 and insurance roughly 8–9%—and energy and water increases added roughly $200,000 to the proposal.
To balance costs, the Director listed planned cuts totaling approximately $745,000, including reductions to differentiated pay ($50,000), regular education supplies and staff development ($10,000 each), CTE equipment ($25,000), and technology outlays ($450,000) by temporarily reallocating Chromebooks. After those offsets, the Director estimated a remaining deficit of about $553,000, describing it as less than "about 3 quarters of percent." The Director recommended the board support the budget on first reading while leaving room for adjustments before the County Commission considers it.
Board members moved and seconded the budget for first reading. The Director said the board will present the budget to the County Commission the following week and does not expect the commission to vote until June or July, leaving time for further tweaks if needed.
What happens next: the budget passed on first reading and will return for more discussion and a later final approval step, including consideration by the County Commission.
