School board budget draws scrutiny after plan to use nearly $1.45 million of fund balance

The Cheatham County School System’s proposed 2026–27 budget prompted questions at the commission’s June 15 budget workshop after the district said it would cover a roughly $2.94 million shortfall by drawing down about $1.45 million from its fund balance.

The budget committee told commissioners it could not recommend approving a school budget predicated on using fund balance and asked the school system to reduce reliance on reserves. “We do not recommend this because of use of the fund balance,” the presenter said, summarizing the committee’s unanimous position.

School officials told commissioners the district’s available fund balance was about $12,355,893, with roughly $2 million already committed. School representatives described how certain planned expenditures — including maintenance, technology rotation and capital projects — were being staged across years and discussed measures to reduce recurring costs where possible.

Commissioners asked school leaders how meal debt and other local revenue issues were being handled; school staff said daily calls, texts and targeted outreach had helped reduce outstanding meal balances compared with prior years and that policy changes (for out‑of‑zone attendance) would address some collection issues.

The workshop included detailed discussion of capital projects the school system had proposed in prior and current planning cycles, including field lighting/turf projects, design work for a new construction trades building and a possible $60 million future school estimate. School officials said enrollment was down to about 5,200 students and that they would not move forward with a new school until enrollment trends justified it.

The committee asked schools to revise their request to reduce fund‑balance reliance and said commissioners will vote on the school budget during the formal adoption process. The budget committee noted that while using fund balance is allowable, repeated reliance erodes reserves the district may need for unplanned costs or large capital projects.

Ending note: School and county staff agreed to follow up with updated revenue figures and to provide answers to commissioners’ questions before the commission’s adoption meeting.