The Blount County Board of Education adopted 2024-25 budgets on Monday, March 25, that would raise starting teacher pay to $50,000, but proposed spending exceeds expected revenue by nearly $4 million.
“This was a difficult budget year,” Blount County Schools Director David Murrell said during a work session to review the budgets before voting.
During the called meeting that followed, the board approved its proposed general operating budget of more than $130.2 million, along with separate budgets for federal education programs, school meals and the Friends after-school program. Together they total more than $156 million.
BCS is scheduled to present its proposals to the county Budget Committee on April 5, and its budgets must receive approval from the county commission.
After a work session of nearly an hour Monday, during the called meeting that followed the school board passed the budgets quickly on voice votes, with school board member Brian King absent.
Teacher pay
The general operating budget for the current school year, under fund 141, totals more than $122 million. The cost of raising teacher pay next year is about $5.2 million.
This school year BCS pay for a teacher who has a bachelor’s degree with no experience is $42,865, and every neighboring county and city district pays more.
State law requires minimum teacher pay of $50,000 by 2026, and Alcoa City Schools already exceeds that.
“We’ve got to get to 50 before 2026 or we’re going to stay at the bottom, and we don’t want to stay at the bottom,” said board member Joe Lindsey.
Board Chair Erica Moore said, “We have to get to a point where we are competitive.”
The budget is position-neutral, still including 883 certified employees among a total staff of about 1,700, but Murrell said there would be a loss of services and program changes.
That includes a Bridge program at five schools for students who completed kindergarten but aren’t quite ready for first grade, and learning loss interventionists added since the pandemic.
After the meeting BCS Human Resources Supervisor Courtney Whitehead explained that when teachers moved into the LLI roles, their previous positions were filled on an interim basis and they will move back.
Other increases in Fund 141 include $340,000 to cover raises for classified staff, those positions that don’t require teaching certification, and $456,000 for a 5% raise on school bus contracts. The classified staff would see a 1.4% raise on top of step increases.
The increased cost for software licenses across the district is estimated at $111,000.
ESSER impact
Another $575,000 would cover the cost of school nurses, paid for this year under federal funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund, which is expiring.
BCS had part-time nurses before COVID hit, but when federal funding became available as part of pandemic relief it moved them to that budget and now has a full-time nurse at all schools, two at each high school.
The general operating budget also includes an increase of $400,000 in spending on heating, ventilation and air conditioning, another area funded in recent years through ESSER.
Revenue side
The budget shows an expected increase of $2.2 million in state funding. When school board member Fred Goins asked if that was to increase teacher pay and Murrell said yes, Goins responded, “It doesn’t add up.”
“Well, there’s a local part that has to kick in too,” the director said. “They don’t fund the whole thing.”
The budget also shows a projected increase of $302,000 in property tax revenue.
However, it shows a projected decrease of $720,000 in sales tax revenue. BCS calculated the number based on a 3% increase over expected actual revenue this year.
Last spring the county required schools to budget a sales tax increase of 7.5%, which Murrell called “aggressive,” and said it has been “much lower.”
Board member Robby Kirkland commented, “They knew it would not meet expectations.”
Board member Vandy Kemp said the budget is a shared responsibility. “This is not our problem; it is the county’s problem,” she said. “Though we are their biggest use of funds, we also touch more lives in this county than any other institution.”
Calling on community
Moore noted that with salaries and benefits accounting for 85-87% of the budget, and additional spending for facilities, transportation and other costs there is little room in the budget of more than $100 million.
The board made raising teacher pay its primary responsibility this year. “We’re not spending money irresponsibly,” Moore said. “We’re trying to do what we can with what’s left.”
“We can’t do it by ourselves,” she said. “We need the commission’s support. We need our community’s support.”
“We’re putting those dollars to good use,” Moore said. “If people could get into the schools to see all the wonderful programs that we have taking place in our schools you would be amazed.”
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