The county school board voted 6-1 Tuesday night to approve an $82 million operating budget for the 2026–27 school year, adopting a spending plan that includes a 4.2 percent base salary increase for teachers and the addition of two new elementary school counselors — positions advocates have requested for over three years.

The lone dissenting vote came from board member Tom Verity, who argued the budget relied too heavily on a one-time federal stabilization fund and did not adequately address what he called “a structural gap we are kicking down the road.”

Superintendent Dr. Anita Clayborn pushed back on that characterization, noting that the district’s reserve fund currently stands at 12.4 percent of operating expenses — above the state-recommended 8 percent floor — and that the new positions are funded by a recurring line item, not the federal dollars.

“We made deliberate choices to protect our recurring budget,” Clayborn told the board. “The teacher raise is fully funded. The counselor positions are fully funded. This is a responsible budget.”

Teacher Pay

The 4.2 percent raise, which applies to all full-time instructional staff, comes after a year in which the district struggled to fill 37 teaching vacancies — a number that teachers union president Delia Huang called “a crisis hiding in plain sight.”

Huang, who addressed the board during public comment before the vote, said the raise was welcome but not sufficient to close the competitive gap with neighboring districts.

“We’re still $4,000 below the regional average,” Huang said. “We applaud this step. We’ll be back next year asking for another.”

The district has said it expects the raise to take effect with the first paycheck of the new school year in August.

Counselor Positions

The two new counselors will be placed at Maplewood Elementary and Lincoln Elementary — the two schools with the highest enrollment and, according to district data, the highest rates of disciplinary referrals. Both schools currently share a single part-time counselor.

State guidelines recommend one counselor per 250 students. Both Maplewood and Lincoln currently operate at ratios above 1:600.

“No child should have to wait three weeks to see a counselor when they’re struggling,” said board member Carla Osei, who championed the positions in budget negotiations. “This doesn’t fix everything but it is a meaningful improvement.”

What’s Not in the Budget

Several requests were deferred, including a proposal to expand the district’s pre-K program to two additional sites, an HVAC replacement project at Roosevelt Middle School, and the purchase of new science lab equipment for the high school.

The HVAC deferral drew the sharpest criticism from community members, two of whom presented temperature logs from last spring showing classroom readings above 88 degrees during the final weeks of school.

Facilities director Mark Truong said the project remains on a capital improvement list and could be funded through a separate bond referendum the district is considering for the November ballot.

The next board meeting is April 14. The full adopted budget will be posted on the district website within 10 business days.