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By Buzz Trexler
Star Correspondent

All eligible certified and classified employees of Elizabethton City Schools will receive a 2.5 percent increase under the 2025-26 budget passed during Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting.

The pay increase is part of a $35,223,407 budget that also includes the city paying 100 percent of individual dental and life insurance premiums for full-time employees, as well as 100 percent of the individual medical insurance premiums for full-time employees electing the Standard, Limited and CDHP options. All other options and levels of coverage are funded similar to 2024.

The general purpose budget is set at $33,661,407, while $1,562,000 is allocated to the school nutrition program.

Funding for the system includes $21,989,186 from state revenue; $8,281,650 from local taxes; $2,525,000 allocated by the city; $654,125 from charges for current services; $158,400 from other local revenue; and $53,046 in federal funds through state revenue.

VanHuss sent a letter to City Manager Daniel Estes in April requesting a $250,000 increase in the 2025-26 operating budget and one-time funding for two 66-passenger buses in the amount of $230,000 “to replace retiring buses.” Nothing has been budgeted for capital outlay from local funds, nor has any capital outlay been budgeted from excess sales tax or reserved funds.

Councilman Mike Simerly, the City Council’s liaison to the school board, said Thursday night city officials met in a three-day retreat to hammer out a city budget. As it stands, the city’s funding of the school system represents one-third of a proposed city property tax increase, if approved by council members in June.

“As a city, we do not like raising our taxes at all,” Simerly said, explaining that city officials “try to live within our budget.” As a result, he said, “Our budgets are tight, and they’re hard.”

The councilman characterized the three-day budget discussions of trying to work out the various departmental requests as a difficult process, but assured board members “you had some strong support in that room.”

“We didn’t have any black eyes, but we did have a few hard feelings, maybe a little bit of hurt feelings, I’ll say,” Simerly said. “But we worked out a budget. We’ve worked out some compromises and we’ve worked out a token of money that we’re going to give you from this day forward and that will go into your budget to help you. Not what you wanted. I wish we had money to give you what you want.”

VanHuss put the operating budget increase agreed to by city officials in a historic perspective, saying it was the largest increase in decades and that “the bottom line is they helped us save some jobs.”

“It just speaks to the support we have on City Council, the people that love and understand what we’re doing,” the director said. “And I knew from the get-go if there was a way to do it, they would do it.”

City school officials have been working to get ahead of a state law — signed by Gov. Bill Lee in 2023 — that requires a minimum certified teacher salary of $50,000 per year, beginning with the 2026-27 school year. In a step toward gradually meeting the state-mandated pay rate, the school board passed a 2024-25 budget increasing the annual salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree from $43,500 to $46,638. The budget board members passed Thursday night reaches that goal a year early with a pay rate of $50,490 for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and zero experience.

The budget projects “average daily membership” — which reflects student enrollment — for the next academic year at 2,662, compared to 2,713 in 2024-25, though the state only funds K-12. In 2024-25, the pre-K, special education and early learning center population was 109 and is projected to increase to 116 the next academic year. Projected personnel for 2025-26 shows a loss of 11 employees.

The board also made some policy changes and gave special recognition to Health Science students, Elizabethton High School Drama students, Elizabethton Future Business Leaders of America students, the Robotics Team, Future Farmers of America students, and teachers Katie Dugger, Jerry Agan and Jerome Behrmann.

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

The board approved the following new hires: Megan Biller, special education assistant at Harold McCormick Elementary (HME), effective April 8; Ryan Biller, educational assistant at T.A. Dugger Junior High (TAD), effective April 8; April Brazil, substitute teacher, effective April 29; Madeline Isaacs, community involvement program swim instructor at Elizabethton High School (EHS), effective April 11; Emily Peters, interim teacher at HME, effective April 25–May 9; and Rick Addison, bus driver, effective May 5.

The board approved the hiring of Mary Beth Leonard as the Betsy Book Bus director, effective April 21.

The board approved the transfers of Alicia Jarrett from school nurse to educational assistant at EHS, effective April 22, and Steven Reese, from West Side Elementary (WSE) to interim fourth-grade teacher at HME, effective April 25 to May 23.

The board approved the following resignations: Caroline Craig, extended school program (ESP) student leader, effective May 5; Noelani Diaz, custodian at HME, effective May 12; Michael Freeman, educational assistant at WSE, effective May 26; Ashlynne Harrison, ESP student leader, effective April 14; Jason Holly, teacher at EHS, effective June 1; Lauren Hunt, educational assistant at Wandell Early Learning Center, effective April 22; and Abbigail White, ESP student leader, effective May 16.

The board approved the rehiring of Seanna Larkins, ESP student leader, effective April 22.

The board approved the retirement of Cynthia Elliott, transition coach at EHS, effective May 26.

The board approved the following leaves of absence: Walt Harper, effective March 17–May 26; Jacob Davis, effective April 25–May 9; Travis Thompson, effective April 25–May 12; Travis Pennell, effective May 14–26; and Rebekah Hornyak, effective April 25–May 26.