The Chatham Schools Board of Education approved a $52.5 million budget request from Chatham County at its May 13 meeting, an increase of about $5.9 million, to help cover rising costs.
“Before you tonight is a budget totaling $52.5 million from the local side, which is about a 12.65% increase over the current year” said Chatham Schools CFO Tony Messer. “Our budget priorities are maintaining local salary supplement that's competitive in the area. Focus on current and anticipated state driven compensation and benefit increases. And let me tell you, they are increases this year.”
Reductions in funding coming from the state directly impacts how much of the weight of the budget must be carried by the county. Messer also noted that there remained unknowns, something unusual for this point in the budget cycle, including the number of students that will actually be in school.
“We don’t know what our unassigned fund balance is going to be,” Messer said. “We usually have state and federal planning allotments six or seven weeks ago… so trying to put a budget together without those is kind of throwing darts.”
When it comes to local education spending, the largest line item is employee supplements, or additional funds used to bolster the salaries of district employees, with another 12% assigned to charter schools to cover the 1,100 students the district must help fund.
Though the state helps cover the cost of most teacher salaries, it does not cover maintenance or non-instructional staff like front office, custodians, some assistant principals, guidance counselors, nurses and social workers.
The average teacher wage increase for the year will be roughly 3%, while the base income for certified staff will increase by $2,700 per step and $500 per classified employee.
Insurance was mentioned as a specific expense, with insurance companies asking for more information than they have in the past. The county’s HR department, though, was praised for improving processes that led to lowered workman’s compensation costs.
“Let me tell you the the insurance renewal process this year has been extensive. They have dug in, they've asked for all kinds of information that never, ever asked before. And rates are going up,” Messer said, also noting that an additional $300,000 was being budgeted to cover increased utility costs.
A unanimous board approved the proposal, which now goes to the county Board of Commissioners for final approval, with any needed changes to be addressed in September.
In other business, the district is purchasing 145 new Apple laptops worth more than $175,000 out of already allocated budget. The laptops are part of a five-year refresh cycle where one-fifth of devices are purchased every year to spread out the costs. These machines will go to educators at Virginia Cross, Bennett and Chatham Middle Schools. This purchase was also approved unanimously.
The next meeting for the Chatham Schools board will be June 3.
