Roanoke Rapids board hears budget shortfall as enrollment falls; fund balance to be tapped

Roanoke Rapids City Schools Board of Trustees finance committee chair Miss Keer presented a draft 2026–27 budget on April 21 that projects falling enrollment and a tightening local fund balance.

Miss Keer told the board the district’s average daily membership has dropped from about 3,200 students to under 2,500, a change that reduces state allotments tied to student counts and will cost the high school two teaching positions earned by enrollment. She said the committee plans to absorb those losses through natural attrition rather than layoffs.

"Our average daily membership or ADM is trending downward," Miss Keer said, and later added the draft assumes "approximately $1.6 million less money coming from the state than we had last year." The presentation also outlined two proposed budget amendments to align state and federal apportionment revisions.

The committee reported the local fund balance — the district’s "rainy day" reserve — will shrink under current assumptions. The draft budget asks to appropriate about $800,000 of fund balance and projects roughly $200,000 remaining as a reserve after balancing next year’s spending, the presentation said.

Miss Keer and other presenters emphasized that several variables remain unknown: final federal allotments, state legislative action that might change retirement rates or pay increases, and health‑insurance costs. The budget as presented assumes carryover of some federal funds and flat federal aid; Miss Keer cautioned a reduction in federal dollars would require shifting funds that currently support staff funded by federal programs, reducing nonpersonnel services for high‑need students.

Board members discussed local options to close any remaining gap. The superintendent’s office confirmed that setting or changing the supplemental tax rate would be a separate board action later in the spring; as presented the budget does not set a new supplemental tax rate. Miss Keer said the committee is trying to avoid asking the board to increase the supplemental tax but left that option on the table if needed.

The finance committee also noted smaller items that will affect costs next year, including underbudgeted employee benefits, a rise in property insurance (about $77,000), and maintenance priorities such as boiler replacements, roofing, and an elevator upgrade. The presentation included a five‑year fund‑balance history and a projection that total available revenues for next year will be nearly $5.8 million under the assumptions used.

Next steps: the board approved the consent agenda that included the committee’s recommended budget documents and two budget amendments for formal adoption; the board may amend the budget later if state or federal appropriations change.