Tim Brown reported to his new job as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools July 1 of this year, and at Wednesday night’s school board work session, he unveiled his 2025 budget proposal totaling $326,339,619. He proposes to keep the property tax rate the same as 2024, $1.1433.
New salary and benefit costs were over $11 million in 2023-24, according to Brown’s board presentation. Without significant changes made, Brown says the Education and Operation Funds will continue to have “structural deficits.” In the short term, the temporary solution is to spend cash balances.
Brown made clear dipping into cash reserves cannot be a long-term solution.
Brown recommends a “budget study committee” be formed to look into spending cuts. He expects it will take “multiple years” to correct the budget issues.
CFO Brown went into much more detail. His PowerPoint presentation is available at this link.
Before the board work session, the President of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA), Abby Taylor, told a group of teachers the union asked for the budget materials in advance, but received the CFO’s presentation at the same time as the public, a few hours before the board session Wednesday. She says her bargaining team will study the numbers and look at the pool of money available for teacher compensation as contract talks begin.
“We did not spend $11 million when we bargained last year,” Taylor told the assembled teachers. “It’s coming out of the Education Fund, which is principals, new admin that was added, and the positions that we added for Special Ed & ENL (English as a new language). We’re not overspending based on what we bargained.”
Craig Frawley, a leader in the HSEA bargaining team, said the attorneys representing the school district told his team, “It’s going to be a lean year.”
But Frawley added, “We are very hopeful it will be a smooth process.”
HSEA said 180 teachers and HSEA supporters filled the board room attending the work session Wednesday. I did not count them all, but the red-shirts filled the board room.
