Joint County-School Board Budget Committee Reviews Public Schools FY-2025 Budget Variables

At the Joint County-School Board Budget Committee meeting rescheduled to March 1 from the previous week, Warren County Public School officials briefed the committee’s Board of Supervisors representatives “Jay” Butler and Richard Jamieson and County Administrator Ed Daley on dynamics of the school system’s developing Fiscal Year-2024-25 budget proposal. Those dynamics include several State funding proposals, as well as internal staff and operational variables, changes in employee Health Care coverage, proposed salary Step increases, and non-labor items like new school bus acquisitions.

Joining the County representatives to the committee were School Board members Antoinette Funk and Andrea Lo, Schools Superintendent Dr. Chris Ballenger, and Schools Finance Director Rob Ballentine. Also joining the meeting slightly late was Jamieson’s fellow first-term supervisor John Stanmeyer, present as a learning experience on one of the County’s most crucial public service budgetary items, the community’s public school system. Stanmeyer told the committee he had filed a request to attend in order to meet any necessary procedural requirements of a non-committee-member supervisor attending.

The Joint County-Schools Budget Committee gets down to business Friday afternoon, March 1. Schools Finance Director Rob Ballentine was also present, but seated out of frame at the near end of the table. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Dr. Ballenger chaired the meeting and presented the initial handouts explaining some of those budgetary variables related to Health Care Insurance increases, before handing off to Finance Director Ballentine, who had several additional pages of agenda material prepared for the committee’s perusal.

Dependent on final State-funding totals, the local County budget contribution for the coming FY-2025 public schools budget could increase by $5.73 million (Governor’s proposed budget), $4.98 million (House proposed budget), or $4.15 million (Senate proposed budget). However, another page presented appeared to indicate the potential of FY-2025 flat-local funding equal to the current FY-2024 County contribution of $28.65-million. The FY-2024 Local, County contribution was a $2.14-million increase over FY-2023, which in turn was a $1.21-million decrease from the Local contribution of FY-2022. It appeared the projected total Public Schools FY-2025 budget/revenue was estimated between $73.69 million and $76.07 million.

Another variable was what will be available to fund staff Step increases on salaries. Increases of from 1% to 3% were presented, with the schools administration preference appearing to be the 3% hike. Whether the school system will absorb full coverage of increases to health care costs or split those increases with hikes to staff coverage payments was also on the table.

School Board member Antoinette Funk, black and white top, reacts to a question from the County Board side of the table, now including Supervisor John Stanmeyer, white shirt to right, and Richard Jamieson, below, as Finance Director Ballentine listens at near end of table.

Exactly how these varying totals might be realized and how various Labor versus Non-Labor funding totals would be realized kept the committee busy for about 90 minutes before adjournment late Friday afternoon.

Watch the Royal Examiner video to see portions of or the full joint budget committee public schools funding discussion:

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