The Fayette County Board of Education has unanimously approved a $492 million tentative budget for the 2017-18 school year.
“Developing a school district budget goes beyond juggling numbers to balance revenue and expenses,” said Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Manny Caulk in a release announcing the budget’s approval. “The budget is a reflection of our community’s hopes, dreams and values about the future, about our children and the possibility of a better tomorrow. Our budget for 2017-18 invests in our children and values our employees by reallocating existing funds, tapping into grant funding and dedicating new revenue.”
The budget includes $4 million for salary increases for all employees, on top of mid-year increases of .5 percent for salaried employees, and .75 percent for hourly employees, which the board approved in December.
“These investments maintain Fayette County’s market competitiveness when compared with surrounding counties and municipalities,” Caulk said.
The budget includes funding for multiple improvements established in the 2016-17 school year including college and career coaches, PSAT testing for ninth and tenth graders, an English language arts curriculum, a year-long induction program for new teachers, additional leadership development for principals, and learning guides for families. The district has also allocated money to cover required increases in employee benefits and utility costs, as well as the added cost of opening a new high school.
New investments listed in the 2017-18 budget include: additional reading and math intervention teachers; more teachers to serve students with special needs, ESL students and those identified as gifted and talented; five carts of 35 Chromebooks each, for student use at each high school; a new comprehensive math curriculum; more support and personnel for schools implementing academies in partnership with Commerce Lexington and the Business Education Network; service contracts to provide expanded student mental health services and supports; and expanded special programs to include a proposed dropout and reengagement academy for non-traditional students and a proposed newcomer academy for students whose home language is not English and whose schooling has been interrupted.
“I believe these are the right investments based on our strategic plan, based on the areas of improvement identified in the district diagnostic review and based on where we want to go as a district,” Caulk said. “We are creating a culture where excellence is the expectation and equity is at the heart of our work.”