2 weeks Ago By By JOHN THOMPSON [email protected]
ELIZABETHTON — Elizabethton Director of Schools Richard VanHuss told the city school board that the state’s mandate to raise the minimum teacher starting salary to $50,000 by the 2026-27 school year, combined with the lower amounts in the state funding formula of the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, has created the need for more than $1 million in cuts in the new budget that is being worked out for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. VanHuss explained the funding difficulty during a budget workshop session following Thursday’s school board meeting. VanHuss explained to the board that the state’s mandated $50,000 minimum salary is estimated to increase the school system’s expenditures during the next fiscal year by $1,055,135.
That figure includes $934,296 in salaries and benefits and $120,839 in medical insurance. Against this increase in expenditures, VanHuss said there was a slight increase in revenue. That included an increase in $10,000 revenue from TISA funding and an increase in local sales tax revenue and property tax revenue of $75,000.
The staff is recommending four major cuts to help reduce the big increase in expenditures. These four are: • A reduction of $387,735 in textbook purchases; • The decision to not purchase one school bus planned for next year, saving $129,653; • A reduction of $100,000 spent on general supplies and staff development; • A reduction of $92,000 in capital. The total amount of the cuts is $709,388.
VanHuss told the board that meant that there was still $260,747 that needed to be cut from the school system’s budget for 2025-2026 in order to reach the state mandate on minimum salaries..
