Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill on Tuesday recommended a total 2025-26 budget of nearly $2.1 billion for the district, in a funding package that would provide for pay raises but also confront the reality of increased uncertainty around funding from county, state and federal governments.
Her budget requests roughly $667 million in recurring funding from Mecklenburg County — an increase of around $28 million, or roughly 4%, from the district’s recurring allotment from the county last year.
At $1.95 billion, the district’s operating budget represents the vast majority of the overall budget request. The operating budget represents a less than 1% increase from last year’s budget. The county funds about 34.2% of that. The state funds 55.4%, the federal government funds 6% and the remaining sliver comes from other revenue sources.
The recommendation offered no major surprises compared to what’s been discussed at prior board meetings. It comes as the district’s main funding sources — Mecklenburg County, the state of North Carolina and the federal government — are all facing fiscal uncertainty. It’s also the first year the district will be without federal pandemic-relief funding, leaving CMS with roughly $100 million less than in the past.
Hill told reporters Tuesday the district has only allocated about 65% of its usual federal allotment in preparation of potential cuts.
“While this budget is certainly tight, I believe that this recommendation reflects a balanced approach,” Hill said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “It prioritizes the board's goals, preserves the student experience and ensures fiscal responsibility.”
The $28 million county request would mostly go toward increasing salaries for current employees. Around $8 million will fund an average 5% increase in the local teacher pay supplement. Another $8.3 million would be allotted to potential pay raises for classified staff — that would represent new pay increases separate from those the board approved earlier this year. And the district is planning for a roughly 3% increase in state-driven salary and benefit adjustments, amounting to nearly $10 million — that could be adjusted as the state finalizes its own spending.
Another $2 million will go toward year two of a four-year program to refresh student devices to ensure all students maintain access to technology like Chromebooks and iPads.
Proposed cuts and uncertainty
But amid uncertain revenue sources at the federal, state and local levels, the district says it’s also proposing some cuts, including holding back on filling 40 vacant teacher positions across the district and roughly $3.8 million in cuts to the central office budget, including in contracted services or equipment and select vacant positions.
“We are not making any cuts to the student experience,” Hill said. “The cuts that we've made are at the central office or any positions that may already be vacant, so there should be no change.”
The budget proposal will come up for a public hearing on April 8, with the Board of Education set to vote on April 22.
But it will ultimately be up to the county, in its own budget process, to determine whether it will fund the district’s plan. It’s unclear how much the county can handle without a tax increase. Mecklenburg officials have already indicated it’s likely facing a budget shortfall this year.
The $28 million requested increase is roughly half the increase the district sought last year.
Supplement debate
The 5% increase in the teacher supplement would include an across the board 4% increase as well as an additional 1% increase for teachers with more than 15 years of experience — a significant benchmark, as it marks when the state salary schedule begins to stagnate.
But board member Summer Nunn said she believed the district had to ask for a higher supplement increase from Mecklenburg County, or experiment with new ways to pay teachers.
She said while CMS has the second-highest local supplement in the state other counties pay larger portions of their budgets toward education.
“We’re bragging about being in the top three (for local supplements) because we have to be in order to get our teachers to even a livable wage,” Nunn said. “What I’m asking for, is can we go ask, can we go work with our county, to say if we’re truly committed can we figure out more for our teachers?”
Math I bonus
The district is still planning a new bonus program for teachers at Title I schools who show strong Math I results. That's an initiative to bolster math performance at those low-wealth schools.
But that’s technically not part of this budget request. That program would be funded by those federal Title I dollars. The board has a separate vote on how the district should spend its federal funding allotment that will come later.
There has, however, been some pushback to the proposal. Board member Melissa Easley said during Tuesday’s board meeting that the proposal “is not something I can support,” arguing she believes it pits teachers against each other and only benefits a maximum 32 teachers across the district.
Beth Thompson, CMS chief strategy and innovation officer, acknowledged the district had heard some skepticism over whether the bonus would produce the intended return on investment.
Hill told the board the district would be unable to expand the bonus beyond Title I schools, as those are the only schools that can access Title I funds. She added that the bonus was created in response to the board suggesting that teachers be rewarded for helping meet district goals — which focus largely on math and literacy. Thompson noted the state has a similar bonus structure.
Federal and state uncertainties
The county is only part of the overall CMS budgeting equation — and as district officials have indicated over the last several weeks, uncertainty abounds at all levels.
While CMS sets its own budget, the district doesn’t have its own taxing powers, meaning it funds its budget with money from the county, state and federal governments.
Some state officials have suggested that revenue might be flat this upcoming fiscal year, with shortfalls possible the year after. The General Assembly in Raleigh is going through its own budgeting process, as are Mecklenburg County commissioners.
And ongoing cost-cutting efforts at the federal level — including previous cuts of federal education grants and the Trump Administration’s efforts to shut down the Department of Education — have created more questions about what revenues might be at risk.
She acknowledged federal funds were the “elephant in the room,” but argued that the budget is built on assumptions every year — as each governmental entity sorts out its budget.
“So this budget is built on assumptions,” Hill said. “If we receive cuts, then we'll have to go back and make budget amendments, just like we do every year.”
Outside of the operating budget, the district receives county funding for capital needs. In addition to its annual allotment of $22.9 million, CMS is asking the county for an additional $10 million that would fund roofing, HVAC and security improvements at district facilities.
Hill said the additional asks of the county and the cuts were only needed because of the inadequacy of overall funding for public schools in North Carolina.
“I also don't want to create the illusion that schools are properly funded— because schools are not properly funded,” Hill said. “So we're having to do these things like cut and ask local to lean in and support in areas that we may not have to do ... if we were in a different situation.”
