Cherokee County Board approves FY27 general fund budget, endorses salary increases and targeted new positions

The Cherokee County School Board on June 8 approved the second and final reading of the FY27 general fund budget and a plan to use district fund balance to reconcile a projected shortfall, the administration said.

Administration staff told the board revenues remain essentially unchanged from the first reading while a few planned positions were removed from the "positions added" list; the presentation summarized the remaining new hires the district intends to fund, including a media assistant at Bey Elementary, two drama teachers (one at Blackburg Middle and one at Euing Middle), an art teacher and a music teacher at Blackburg Primary, a fourth-grade teacher at Draytonville Elementary, an academic interventionist at Luther Vaughn Elementary, a discipline secretary at Gaffne High School, a one-on-one teacher for visually impaired students in student services, and a compliance coordinator in student services.

Finance staff explained a reclassification of object codes shifted approximately $3.2 million that had been coded to utilities into the correct electricity/gasoline/fuel line and that some trash-collection costs were reallocated to a different object code; staff said these were accounting reclassifications, not new spending lines. The administration recommended using a projected fund-balance supplement to cover the remaining difference between anticipated revenues and proposed expenditures and described options to narrow that gap, including increased enrollment, targeted expenditure reductions and program reprioritization.

On compensation, the district described a three-part approach: teachers will receive a 3% schedule adjustment plus their annual step increase (producing roughly a 3.5–5% total change for individual teachers depending on step), non-teacher staff outside principals and assistant principals will receive a 3% net adjustment, and principals and assistant principals will receive a 4% adjustment. The board asked for clarification on pay levels; the administration reported an entry‑level, bachelor’s, zero‑step teacher salary in the district at roughly $51,593 per year.

Board members asked about classroom size thresholds and contingency options if enrollment grows; the administration said state funding is adjusted to reflect actual enrollment and noted the district can add FTEs after the official count to keep class-size ratios aligned with state and district thresholds.

After discussion, a motion to adopt the FY27 general fund budget as presented was made and seconded; the board voted unanimously in favor.

The approved budget will take effect July 1, 2026, and the administration will implement the staffing and coding changes described during the meeting. The board did not provide a detailed line‑by‑line roll call in open session; the vote was recorded as unanimous.