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Anderson School District 3 reviews FY2526 budget with higher local tax assumption, staff pay increases
Summary
Trustees reviewed a draft FY2526 budget that assumes local property-tax collections at 93.5% of assessed value, funds $2,000 raises for teachers and administrators, a 2% raise for support staff, adds $38,000 to the SRO contract and maintains a 25% fund-balance target; the board set a community budget meeting for May 26 and voted to enter executive session on personnel and contract matters.
Trustees of Anderson School District 3 heard a detailed budget presentation and debated key assumptions at a regularly scheduled meeting.
The district presenter said the draft FY2526 budget is still based on the state House’s projections pending Senate updates and recommended budgeting local property-tax collections at 93.5% of assessed value, higher than the historically conservative figures the district had used (around 91–92%). The presenter said that, compared with last month’s draft, the change in the district’s value-per-mill assumption would generate roughly $134,000 in new revenue and contribute to a total projected budget increase of $1,253,350 (3.89%).
Why it matters: that higher local-tax assumption affects how much state aid the district receives because the district’s index of taxpaying ability is used in the state aid-to-classrooms calculation. The presenter warned the board that large new local assessments — for example from major facilities coming on line — can raise the district’s index and reduce state funding after a lag of about one year.
Specific cost items and personnel changes were highlighted during the presentation. The presenter proposed a $2,000 flat increase for teachers (which the presenter said would raise the starting teacher salary to $54,000) and a $2,000 increase for administrators; other support staff would receive a 2% pay increase. To cover step increases and these raises the presenter said the payroll budget line would rise from $640,000 to $655,000.
The presenter also reported a $38,000 increase to the SRO (school resource officer) contract, citing higher officer pay, insurance costs, and an extension of daily coverage at Crescent High School by half an hour at the school’s request.
On reserves, the presenter reviewed the district’s fund-balance history and the board’s 25% target (roughly three months of expenditures). The presenter reported the current fund balance in the meeting as “8,47,663” (format unclear in the transcript) and said an additional $313,337.50 would be needed to reach the 25% target.
Board members pressed for more detail. Mr. Arnold and others asked about the wisdom of budgeting at 93.5% versus the county board’s suggested 95% and requested follow-up scenarios for larger support-staff increases (for example a $1,000 flat amount instead of 2%). Trustees also asked about the potential impact on state aid if a large project (the presenter referenced a hypothetical Duke power plant) raised the district’s index of taxpaying ability; the presenter said the effect would appear after about a one-year data lag and depend on statewide assessment changes.
The presenter provided a general-fund update through April 30, reporting revenues exceeded expenditures by $2,156,266 year to date and noting timing differences on some state payments. The presenter said the district still expects a manufacturers-depreciation reimbursement (roughly $356,000 outstanding) and had not yet received its final state-aid allocation based on the 135th-day enrollment count.
The board set a community budget meeting for Tuesday, May 26, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to take public questions before the final June budget hearing; the board directed staff to advertise the meeting. The chair then moved, and the board voted, to enter executive session to discuss personnel and a contractual matter.
Votes at a glance: a motion to approve the agenda and a motion to accept the previous month’s minutes were made and seconded during the meeting; the chair then entertained and the board approved a motion to enter executive session on personnel and contract matters. The transcript records each motion and a board vote in favor; exact tallies were not specified in the record provided.
What’s next: staff will advertise the May 26 community budget meeting, run the requested payroll/increase scenarios for trustees’ consideration, and return with any updated state revenue projections once the Senate figures and final state-aid allocations are available.
