Property, sales tax revenues up for Shelby County Schools
Revenues for the Shelby County Board of Education are expected to come in stronger in 2022 than in 2021, but the school board plans to spend less in 2022, according to a proposed budget.
The school system expects revenues of $289 million in fiscal 2022, which begins Oct. 1, compared to $280 million in 2021, records show.
The school system’s chief financial officer, John Gwin, said property and sales tax revenues have been strong in 2021, and he expects that to continue in 2022.
With tight demand in the housing market, home values have been increasing, resulting in increased property tax revenues. The school system expects to receive $66.5 million in local property tax revenues in 2022, compared to $64.6 million in 2021.
Also, sales tax revenues are expected to be $13.9 million, up 28% from $10.9 million in 2021.
Meanwhile, the school system plans to spend $298 million in 2022, compared to $300 million in 2021. School system leaders expect to end fiscal 2022 with $44.6 million in the bank, which is enough to cover school system expenses for 1.45 months.
The state recommends school systems keep enough money in the bank to cover at least one month’s worth of expenses.
One noteworthy increase in expenditures is in salaries and benefits. The state Legislature approved a 2% raise for employees in steps 0-8 on the pay scale and 2-4% raises for employees on steps 9 or higher, Gwin said.
Those raises and 27.5 new positions added since the 2021 budget originally was passed will cost Shelby County Schools an extra $6.42 million, and the school system will have to come up with about $1.05 million of that from local funds, Gwin said. The rest of the increase is covered by state and federal funds, he said.
About 88% of the budget for Shelby County Schools goes toward salaries and benefits.
Also in the 2022 budget is about $41 million worth of capital projects, including $38 million worth of construction projects announced in February. Those projects include about 80 additional classrooms in communities across the county that have experienced growth.
Projects for schools in the 280 Living coverage area include:
- 10 classrooms at Chelsea Park Elementary
- Classroom renovations at Chelsea Middle
- Expanded student parking lot and paving at Chelsea High
- New fine arts building and renovations of existing rooms at Oak Mountain High
The school system also will be making use of additional state and federal funds being provided for COVID-19 relief and recovery. The state is giving Shelby County a one-time allocation of $3.5 million to make up for funds lost due to decreased enrollment numbers associated with the pandemic, Gwin said.
The federal government also has dispatched additional funding to help with projects to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 disease and instructional efforts designed to deal with learning loss associated with the pandemic. Some of that money already has been spent, but school districts have until September 2024 to spend the rest, Gwin said.
Here are a few other noteworthy items in the budget pointed out by Gwin:
- The state increased funding for each teacher’s supplies from $500 to $700 and funding for each teacher’s technology from $350 to $500.
- The state increased funding for school nurses in Shelby County by $166,000, from $765,926 to $932,311. Shelby County has at least one nurse for each school, plus some floaters, Gwin said.
- State funding to help at-risk students in Shelby County fell by $62,000, from $404,788 to $343,172.
- Money from the state Advancement and Technology Fund for capital projects dealing with technology, transportation, operations and maintenance increased by $346,000, from $5.56 million to $5.91 million.
- State funding is tied to enrollment. Shelby County Schools started this school year with about 18,840 students, records show.
- The school system started this school year with 2,906 employees, including 1,417 teachers, 1,278 non-certified support personnel (office staff, custodians, lunchroom workers, bus drivers, etc.), 108 administrators, 50 counselors, 34 librarians and 19 certified support personnel, such as curriculum specialists.
The school board held its first public hearing on the budget Thursday and plans to hold the second one on Aug. 26 and vote on the budget Sept. 16.