by Kate Evans
The Morgan County School Board authorized publication of their proposed 2025-2026 Morgan County Schools budget in the amount of $41,026,589 for public inspection at their May 13 meeting. School Treasurer Ann Bell gave a budget presentation at the meeting.
The projected revenues and expenditures for the combined general current expense fund, the special revenue fund and the capital projects fund total $41,026,589 for Fiscal Year 2026, an increase of $4,368,049 from last year’s $36,658,541. Federal ESSERF monies are done now. Bell felt they’d been spent wisely. Many costs are now being covered by the general fund or grants.
Superintendent David Banks also discussed cost funding decreases for some programs that they were able to arrange. Those programs include Instructional Empowerment, Edmentum, I-Ready and Horizon Benchmarks, West Virginia Virtual School and Capturing Kids Hearts.
School Treasurer Ann Bell will present the budget at the budget hearing that is scheduled for the May 27 Morgan County School Board meeting which will be held at the school board office at 6 p.m. The board is also set to approve the budget later that evening after the public hearing.
Special levy
Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 funding considerations include revenue from the 2024-2027 excess levy call (special levy) with $400,000 for maintenance, $300,000 for capital improvements and repairs, $125,000 for technology, $400,000 for instructional materials and $45,000 for public libraries. ($27,000 for Morgan County Public Library and $18,000 for Paw Paw Public Library.
The special levy also provides $1,972,105 for salaries and benefits to employ and retain highly qualified personnel and $1,252,438 to support critical education programs that include alternative education, vocational programming, remediation, Stem programs and extracurricular activities.
Bell said the total of the levy call is $4,494,543 which was based on property values in 2021. The total projected levy collections for 2025-2026 is $5,560,984. She noted that the $1,066,441 difference will be primarily be used to supplement the local salary schedule and to support critical education programs, but that it can be used for the other areas as well.
Levy revenue
The Morgan County Schools budget involves state school and special levy funding along with state aid and other revenue. State regular school levy revenue for Fiscal Year 2026 is expected to be $6,574,984, some $431,305 more than last year’s $6,143,660.
The total projected special levy revenue for Fiscal Year 2025 is $5,560,193. That’s $364,791 more than last year’s projected $5,196,193.
Some 75.28% of the total proposed budget or $25,185,129 will fund salaries and benefits, Bell said. The percentage is down a little from last year, but Bell said she may have to plug some positions back in.
Specific funds
The estimated general current expense fund is $33,453,432 for Fiscal Year 2026, up $1,589,666 from $31,863,766 last year.
The special revenue fund of $4,571,167 includes Title 1, Title 2 and Title 4 funding, funding for special education, child nutrition, bus replacement, career technical education, alternative education, faculty senates and staff development. There was an increase in special revenue of $151, 392.
Capital projects estimated revenues and expenditures total $3,000,000. Bell said that the money would be used for the Widmyer Elementary heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) renovations School Building Authority project.
Other revenue includes property taxes of $6,574,965 (regular levy), $5,560,984 in property taxes (special levy), $685,000 in prior year taxes, $11,208,484 in total state aid, $150,000 in Medicaid reimbursements and $2,000,000 in unreserved fund balance carryover, $347,000 in assigned fund balance and $500,000 reserved for contingencies.
Budgetary considerations
Bell said that budgetary considerations included the charter school allowance. Some 31 Morgan County students are enrolled in charter schools, with the accompanying loss of $247,469 in state aid. That’s nearly $8,000 in state aid per student.
Final computations for Fiscal Year 2026 show that the school system is down $247,817 in total basic state aid, Bell said. She noted that the total state aid and other allowances showed an increase of $140,661 in PEIA funding which offset the decrease.
Other considerations are the Third Grade Success Act, which requires teacher aides/ ECCATs to be placed in third grade classrooms this year.
Employee salary/benefits are increasing 14% from a legislative PEIA increase, she noted.
Debt service for Fiscal Year 2026 is $351,929, said Bell. Some $285,263 goes toward the CMTA energy management program lease purchase payment. $66,666 is for the QZAB no-interest loan payment for the Berkeley Springs High School renovations, Bell said.
School enrollment
Last year’s full-time (FTE) student enrollment was 2,129 plus 19 Charter School students for a total of 2,148 students. This year’s estimated student enrollment has decreased to 2,099 full-time (FTE) students with 31 possible Charter School students for a total of 2,130 full-time students.
Bell said that school enrollment has been declining almost every year since the 2011-2012 school year when the student enrollment head count was 2,572. State aid funding is based on student enrollment numbers.
Over the formula positions
Bell said that they currently are 19.31 professional personnel over the formula and 15.05 service personnel over the formula. There are other positions that aren’t funded through state aid.
School expenditures
Estimated school expenditure categories in the general expense fund are $18,439,867 for instruction; $3,179,917 for facilities operations and maintenance; $2,742,420 for student transportation; $2,234,478 for student support services; $1,858,099 for school administration; $2,137,067 for instructional staff; $444,838 for central services; and $470,190 for central administration.
Major expenses
Major general current expense items for the Fiscal Year 2026 are professional and service personnel salaries, retirement and health insurance costs, social security matching, retirement plans, long-term substitutes, substitutes, electricity, textbooks, technology supplies-software, contracted services, repair/maintenance service and other professional services.
The proposed school budget is published today in The Morgan Messenger and will also be in next week’s edition. The budget is also posted on the Morgan County Schools website. Paper copies are available at the school board office.
