Cherokee County board adopts $109.2 million FY2026–27 budget with raises for staff

The Cherokee County School Board of Trustees on June 8 adopted a $109,191,599 general fund budget for the 2026–27 school year after a second and final reading and brief public discussion.

Finance Director Hayden presented changes since the first reading, including newly authorized positions — music and art teachers at elementary schools, drama teachers at middle schools, a 1.0 FTE media assistant at Beadle Elementary, an academic interventionist and a compliance coordinator — and a reclassification of utility and trash accounts to correct prior ledger coding. Hayden said the administration proposed a fund-balance supplement to balance the budget.

A trustee asked how the package affects employee pay. Hayden said teachers will receive a 3% adjustment to the teacher schedule plus the annual step increase — “somewhere between 3.5 to 5% depending on where they are on the schedule,” — while non‑administrative staff receive a 3% net adjustment and assistant principals and principals receive 4%.

The board voted unanimously to approve the budget. “The budget is approved,” the chair confirmed after the voice vote.

The budget documents also project contingency paths to close remaining gaps — increased enrollment, targeted reductions, or programmatic changes — and note the district has already collected more local revenue than budgeted in May, including an unusually strong delinquent‑collections month, the administration said.