Sumter School District presents $177 million FY2027 budget; public raises alarms over bus service, security costs and new hires

The Sumter School District Board of Trustees on June 8 received a proposed FY2027 budget that the administration said would total $176,995,249 and close the current projection gap largely with fund balance.

In a 40-minute presentation, a district presenter identified as Miss Spearman outlined five priorities guiding the plan—facility and transportation improvements, student support services, instructional supports, professional development and staff retention—and detailed projected increases in personnel and operating costs. She said the district is proposing a starting teacher salary of $50,500 for next year and noted mandated increases to the certified teacher salary scale and a 2% increase for bus drivers.

The presentation listed $8,461,440 in additional expenditures over the current base year, including personnel shifts that the district said would yield about $1.668 million in savings from positions not being filled, multiple scenarios for increasing building-service workers’ pay (ranging from $343,355 to $1,536,730 depending on the number of pay-grade steps approved), and several new or expanded positions: an assistant principal for Crosswell Drive Elementary (salary and fringe estimated at $120,429), a procurement specialist (about $100,000), and a district safety manager (about $100,000). Contract and licensing increases, including a multi-year contract payment for Edmentum, were presented as part of a $675,000 technology and program increase.

Miss Spearman also said the district expects a modest increase in local tax revenue but projected a net difference between revenue and proposed expenditures of roughly $6.65 million that the administration recommended filling from fund balance. She noted the district’s projected fund balance would remain above the minimums required by state policy and cited the Government Finance Officers Association benchmarks.

Public commenters used the three-minute budget public-input slot to press the board on operational priorities. One taxpayer who spoke during the budget comment period said the district lacks a clear transportation line item and detailed operational shortfalls: drivers leaving for neighboring counties for higher pay, broken bus cameras and nonworking radios on many buses, uncertainty about activity bus purchases, and what the speaker described as routine payment to municipal officers and escorts that inflated security spending. “They’re the first person to see our children and the last person,” the speaker said of bus drivers, urging the board to prioritize frontline staff.

Later in the public comment segment, Sarah Williams, identifying herself as a taxpayer and frequent meeting attendee, urged the trustees to "get back to the children" and questioned whether current budget priorities were serving students. Another speaker introduced as Randall Freeman pressed the board on accountability and transparency, asked for clearer justification for newly posted administrative positions, and raised concerns about legal spending. Freeman said legal costs tied to records requests and outside counsel had exceeded roughly $170,000 and urged the board to "hire a general counsel and put him on staff" to reduce outside legal expenses.

Board members did not take votes on the budget at the June 8 meeting; the administration said the county council’s school budget presentation was scheduled for the following evening and that a second reading of the budget is set for a called meeting on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

The administration’s package includes several funding options for building-services pay increases and requests the board’s direction on which scenario to adopt. The presentation also referenced ongoing recruitment challenges—the district reported dozens of open positions including bus drivers, custodians and other support staff—and proposed $250,000 in sign bonuses as part of recruitment efforts.

Next steps: the administration will present the revised budget to county council the next day and the board will consider a second reading and potential adoption at the June 16 called meeting. Public comment on the budget and the specific staffing and security questions raised at the June 8 meeting remain open for that process.