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Coffee County faces budget squeeze as enrollment and federal funding shift; trustees weigh fees and staff benefits
Summary
District staff told trustees the $54 million general fund is under pressure from enrollment declines, changes to the TISA funding formula and rising health costs. Officials proposed limiting new cuts, suggested targeted fundraising to cover student fees, and scheduled further budget work for July.
District staff told the Coffee County Board of Education at a Manchester work session that the school system faces a tightening fiscal picture driven by lower enrollment, state funding formula changes and rising benefits costs.
The district's presenter said the general fund is roughly $54 million, with roughly 41.5% of that coming from local sources, about 40% from the state and roughly 18.5% federal. The board's finance presenter, Miss Milson, said the district lost a one percentage‑point split to Manchester City Schools in this year's recalculation and recorded a roughly $23,000 local loss tied to that change. She said a late‑year drop of about 60 students cost the district approximately $77,000 in the last two months, and that holding enrollment at the lower level for a full year would amount to an estimated $451,000 reduction.
Milson also described programmatic changes and grant shifts: federal program moves required the district to shift six positions from federal (IDEA) funding into the general fund, increasing pressure on local dollars. Trustees discussed the district’s low per‑pupil state ranking and the difference between public school obligations for special needs students and private school scholarship rules.
Health insurance costs were flagged as a near‑term budget stressor. Staff said the district currently pays 100% of single‑employee coverage for roughly 250 employees; a projected 7–9% rate increase next January could add roughly $288,000 annually on single coverage alone. Trustees discussed tradeoffs between raises and preserving benefits and asked staff to model multi‑year scenarios.
On student fees, staff reported that if every secondary student paid required class fees the district could collect up to about $80,000, but actual collections fell far short (roughly $14,000 collected last year). Several trustees opposed charging elementary families and suggested the board consider budgeting to cover unpaid fees or increasing community fundraising (suggesting events like Lemonade Day), rather than pushing collection duties onto teachers or families. Trustees asked staff to return with options during the July budget work session.
No formal budget decisions or votes were taken at the work session; trustees asked staff to present more detailed budget scenarios and recommended items for the July agenda.
