Hamilton County board approves FY2027 budget for presentation after debate over $2 million in board priorities

The Hamilton County Board of Education voted 11-0 to approve the fiscal year 2027 operating budget for presentation to the Hamilton County Commission after a discussion over how the board-priority $2,000,000 would be allocated.

Board members recorded on the meeting floor that the $2,000,000 was split into three lines read into the record: $1,100,000 for athletics (to increase coach stipends and support transportation and security), $1,500,000 for fine arts and band programs, and $400,000 for main maintenance equipment replacement. The numbers were read aloud by district leadership at the board's request before the vote.

The allocation prompted a sustained exchange among board members over priorities. "Community survey results… we have inverted this," said a board member during the discussion, arguing that facilities and maintenance had ranked higher than athletics in public feedback. That board member urged more attention to aging buildings and a request for a joint conversation with county commissioners before sending the budget forward.

Other members defended the package as part of broader compensation and priorities. A board member who helped frame the budget said the board had worked to deliver "a balanced budget" that included a $14,000,000 pay increase for teachers while preserving the board's $2,000,000 discretionary priority. "This is an opportunity for us to make what I believe to be an historical investment in two key areas that directly impact all students," the member said, referring to athletics and fine arts.

Board members described the athletics allocation as intended to address nearly three decades without a review of coach stipends, as well as to ease transportation and security costs at games. "It's been 29 years since stipends for these coaches have been looked at," said the athletics committee chair, adding that some schools pay security costs at $60 an hour per deputy and that the board hoped to provide more consistent funding.

District leadership also explained the scale of maintenance needs and said $2,000,000 would not meet all capital requirements, but would fund targeted purchases or repairs. Board members called for continued conversations with the Hamilton County Commission, which serves as the district's funding body, before final adoption of the budget by the commission.

The vote to send the FY2027 budget and the capital projects package to the county commission was unanimous, recorded as 11-0. The board's next step is to present the package to the county commission at a scheduled meeting next week; the commission will have authority to approve, modify or reject the items when it adopts the county budget.