The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education and Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners are preparing for a tight budget cycle.
CMS is juggling uncertainty in its largest revenue source, the state, with no state budget and a decline in enrollment, which determines the state’s allotment. The district has already planned to hire 200 fewer employees this year to adjust to the decline. Meanwhile, federal funding remains uncertain amid the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to cut federal education grants and the Department of Education itself.
That leaves the county’s portion of the pie, which accounts for roughly 34% of CMS’ total operating funds.
But early estimates suggest Mecklenburg County is staring at a budget gap this year between $36 million and $21 million — though County Budget Director Adrian Cox cautioned it was still early and those numbers could change.
CMS board member Shamaiye Haynes questioned if the projection was meant to lower expectations as CMS prepares its budget request.
“It’s not to lower any expectations,” said County Manager Mike Bryant. “Instead, it is to present the reality that we have to sort through.”
Bryant said the county’s average growth of 3 to 4% doesn’t keep up with the need, and also placed the blame on the state for failing to fund various mandates and initiatives.
Despite the uncertainty, the boards struck a collaborative tone at Thursday’s joint meeting — a far cry from just a few years ago, when the two boards were often at odds over funding issues.
CMS Chief Finance Officer Kelly Kluttz described the county portion of its funding as the “lever” — the portion of its funding that the local community has the most control, which can help elevate the district to do more than provide a basic education.
“If we want to be great, we must use our local funds to the fullest extent to get us there,” Kluttz said.
But CMS officials also committed to looking within its operating budget to see where changes could be made.
“We want to be great, even when funding is tight,” Kluttz said. “The answer is not to pile more on the county, or the taxpayer, it’s to do what strong organizations do during these times: They evaluate, they reallocate and they recycle.”
The district’s expecting budget impacts from utility rate increases, the costs of opening new schools, plans to refresh student devices and state pay and benefit adjustments. While CMS won’t make its formal funding request to the county until May, CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill said she’s likely planning on requesting a 5% increase to the county teacher supplement — a local supplement that gets added on to a teacher’s state-funded base salary.
That would be the same as the request she made last year.
Meanwhile, Bryant and Hill shared details on a new “Quality of Life Collaborative” — an effort led by Bryant, Hill and Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones that aims to bring the business, nonprofit and government communities together to address various quality of life concerns.
Those include education initiatives, including a potential housing program for educators — something the district has been exploring in recent years.
Hill said the initiative is working toward a multi-year goal to raise all teachers’ pay above Mecklenburg County’s living wage of $55,307. The current state pay scale and local supplement don’t reach that level until around seven years of experience. The goal would be to increase beginning teacher salaries in Mecklenburg County to $60,000, compared to the current first-year salary of $48,943.
Hill argued that paying teachers is ultimately the responsibility of the state. But the collaborative effort with the county and the city would look for local opportunities, such as finding ways to increase the county-funded salary supplement each year.
“I’ve committed that is something I will always recommend in terms of my budget to the school board,” Hill said. “We are also in the process of looking within our current operating budget to see where we can realign funds in order to increase the teacher supplement.”
Hill and Bryant acknowledged that county funding alone won’t be able to achieve those pay goals — it would cost an additional $114 million to increase salaries that high. And Hill made clear that she’d never make a request that steep to the county.
The goal of the collaborative would be to find additional solutions with other philanthropic and community partners, while continuing to push for better state funding and acknowledging that any community-wide investment of that magnitude may not be sustainable long-term.
County Commission Chair Mark Jerrell said the collaborative should also work toward creating an aligned legislative agenda to better advocate in Raleigh and called on using corporate partners “to help in that fight as well.”
