Administrator eye 5% raises for school employees
By WILLIAM PAINE
Patriot Publishing
Pulaski County school administrators are hoping to provide 5 percent pay hikes for school personnel in their next budget to offset expected higher insurance premiums.
As usual, much depends on the level of state funding the school system receives.
The Pulaski County School Board on Tuesday held the first of three work sessions to review budget numbers for the 2025-26 school year.
The Governor’s proposed budget would mean an increase in state funds for Pulaski County schools from $41.7 million to $42.8, but federal contributions will likely be less than in previous years. Though these numbers may well rise when the amended state budget passes, school administrators are working with these figures to devise the school system’s 2025-26 school year budget.
According to Finance Director Morgan Sklar, federal funds will provide $4 million to the school system’s budget, which is significantly less than in past years.
Even so, administrators are hoping to provide as much as a 5 percent pay increase to school personnel. This is dependent, however, upon state funding for raises. There is also the possibility of significant bonuses doled out at year’s end, but it’s likely either a raise or a bonus and not both.
Pulaski County Schools will almost certainly pay significantly more for their health insurance premiums in the coming year.
According to Superintendent Rob Graham, health Insurance claims doubled last year and this will drive up the cost of premiums by as much as 30 percent. At least half of this increase would be covered by the school system, but the situation is still in flux as neither the state budget nor next year’s insurance rates have yet to be determined.
If it comes down to a choice, the school system would rather give a raise and pass a greater share of the health insurance premium to employees, otherwise Pulaski County Schools loses out on its compensation supplement from the state.
According to Sklar, who is working to make the pay raise happen, “We’re already the highest payer for 10-month teachers in the region.”
Current enrollment or Average Daily Membership for Pulaski County is approximately 3,800 students. With the inclusion of the approximately 600 online STRIDE students, there are nearly 4,400 students enrolled.
According to Weldon Cooper Center projections, attendance is expected to drop by a couple hundred students over the next couple of years.
Funds are dispersed to the school system based on enrollment and according to Graham, Pulaski County Schools loses $11,000 for each child who doesn’t attend. The state awards about 10 percent of the normal administrative fee for STRIDE students attending Pulaski County Schools.
In sum, federal funds are down, state funds are slightly up and STRIDE funds will also likely increase so that school board operating funds are similar to last fiscal year.
As of Jan. 30, 2025, the school system’s capital fund revenues stood at $4,987,537. This includes a carryover from last year of nearly a half-million dollars, over $28,000 from the cigarette tax and nearly $1 million provided by the county’s debt service. The debt service was established by county policy to allow the Pulaski County school system to continue receiving mortgage payments for school buildings even after the debt has been satisfied. These funds are specifically designated to be used for capital improvement projects for the Pulaski County School system.
Currently almost $700,000 is encumbered with projects including the installation of a roof at the PCHS fieldhouse and Northwood Elementary School, new doors at Dublin Elementary School, improvements to the PCHS weight room and additional improvements at Snowville Elementary and at the high school.
Projects that are set to take place in the coming fiscal year include replacing the lights at Kenneth J. Dobson stadium ($1.5 million), building a wall to enclose the courtyard at PCHS ($800,000) and installing fiber optic cable at Northwood Elementary School ($250,000).
If these projects go forth as planned, that will leave approximately $1.8 million in the capital fund.
Operations Manager Jess Shull reckons the school system can make the Northwood Elementary School building renovated and ready to be the new home of the PCPS Administration for about $1.5 million.
Work on the roof is ongoing and will cost approximately $215,000, which is significantly less than originally estimated. Additionally, Shull and his crews did interior demolition work at Northwood, which saved the school system significant money. Shull even offered to do the fiber optic installation “in house” if the estimate for that work is too high.
“Technically, we’re capable of doing the whole building, but I’d have to dedicate everybody,” said Shull. “I’d have to go up there every day, and then the schools would suffer. So we’d rather not.”
The current offices of the school board are located in the 1920-era bank building on the corner of Washington Ave. and East Main Street in Pulaski. As mentioned, the school board plans to move to the old Northwood Elementary School building by year’s end.
The bank building is now up for sale for $389,000.
If the bank building sells before the board is able to move to their new offices at Northwood, school administrators will try to make arrangements to keep paying rent till they’re ready to move.
If this isn’t possible, Graham says he has a backup plan, which would likely entail administrators working from home until the move is possible.
Either way, school board members and administrators are eager to move, as monthly rent costs $3,400 and the school system is responsible for all repairs, insurance and utility payments. Graham estimates the monthly costs of working from the bank building to be about $14,000.
As far as priorities for the upcoming year, the school board intends on purchasing three new school busses and a school van for Snowville Elementary School; hire a new art teacher and a new music teacher to work at the elementary schools and additional kindergarten aids, as well as a behavioral specialist.
One of the school system’s top priorities is to be able to give school employees raises so that they can at least break even after the likely increase in insurance rates, but how much funding the state will provide is still up in the air.