Henry County will hold a hearing May 10 on its tentative $414.5 million fiscal 2021-2021 schools budget.
The district, which approved the tentative budget April 19, expects to see a boost in state funds for the school system next academic year after financial support was cut in 2020-2021 because of COVID-19.
But incoming revenue is expected to be $406.9 million, short of what will be needed to meet expenditures, CFO Shanika Clay told the board of education at a recent meeting.
“This shortfall can be resolved through us of $7.6 million of federal funds allowed to support continuity of services at schools containing of services at schools continuing to navigate circumstances of the pandemic,” she said.
Pay will increase at least 1% for most employees and up to 3% for staffers on track for step increases this year, the school system said. The tentative budget also includes funding for expansion of the Impact Academy, which will be the district’s virtual school platform for next year.
“This pandemic altered a lot about the previous year’s budget, including key services that our school community has come to appreciate and expect,” Board of Education Chairwoman Holly Cobb said. “Thanks to an improved local and state tax digest along with support from the federal government, the balanced tentative budget we approved gets us closer to the pre-pandemic levels we experienced and tightly aligns our spending focus with our strategic plan.”
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