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Norton City Schools presents $16.5 million FY2026-27 budget; council to advertise public hearing
Summary
Norton City School officials presented a proposed FY2026-2027 balanced budget of $16,494,456.76, based on an ADM of 780 and a proposed 2% staff salary increase; the Norton City Council authorized advertising a public hearing for May 19 and expects final action in June.
Cody McElroy, chairman of the Norton City School Board, presented the school division's proposed FY2026-2027 budget Tuesday evening, saying the balanced plan totals $16,494,456.76 and is based on an Average Daily Membership (ADM) of 780.
"It was an honor to present the school system's budget to council," McElroy said, adding that the proposal assumes a 2 percent salary increase for staff and is built from the General Assembly's December 2025 biennial budget proposal because the school system has not yet received a final calculation tool from the General Assembly.
The presentation said the Norton City Schools Composite Index increased to 0.2702 for FY2026-2027 (a roughly 12 percent increase). The school system requested the city's Required Local Effort of almost $3.4 million, comprising $3,307,607 for local operations and $33,597 for the Textbook Fund; local funding decreased by $102,630 compared with last year and includes $50,000 in pass-through funding for a School Security Officer grant. Expenditure highlights included $14,874,212.85 in the General Fund and nearly $1.1 million across food service, retiree health, textbook, and capital project funds, representing almost a $1 million increase compared with last year.
Superintendent Dr. Gina Wohlford and Nicholas Childers, Norton City Schools supervisor of finance, distributed copies of the budget and answered council questions during the presentation.
City Manager Jeffery A. Shupe asked council to authorize staff to advertise a public hearing on the proposed school budget; council members agreed to advertise the hearing for the May 19 council meeting. If the General Assembly later releases different figures, McElroy said the school system will adjust the budget and report back; Shupe said any state-driven midyear change could be handled by amendment or in next spring's ADM reconciliation.
The council's authorization to advertise the hearing was unanimous (YES — Jones, Salyers, Fultz and Fawbush; ABSENT — Caruso). The public hearing will be held at the May 19 meeting, and council plans to take action on the school budget at its first meeting in June.
