Warren County budget hearing spotlights school funding as residents urge larger increase

Warren County supervisors held a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, during which county finance staff outlined a proposed $93.44 million budget and several speakers, including teachers, parents and school association leaders, pressed the board to increase funding for Warren County Public Schools.

The county's finance presenter, identified in the meeting as Miss Scott, said the proposed FY26 amended budget is $93,440,000, down $651,944 from the adjusted FY25 total after transfers. Miss Scott told supervisors the FY25 adopted budget was $97.35 million but, after moving certain programs out of the general fund and accounting for supplements and transfers, the adjusted FY25 baseline used to prepare FY26 is lower.

Why it matters: school operating budgets and personnel were the most frequent concern raised during public comment. Speakers said flat funding in prior years has left schools short on support staff and classroom resources and warned that continued restraint threatens teacher retention and programs the community values.

Members of the public urged a larger increase than the $750,000 in the county's proposed budget. Sarah Jones, a resident of the Happy Creek District, said the county must "prioritize funding our public schools now" and that "an increase of only $750,000 falls far short of what is required to adequately support every student." Rebecca Hudson Hodge, who identified herself as co-president of the Warren County Education Association and as an educator in the county, asked the board to fund at least $1,147,000, a figure she said the school board had adopted in a unanimous resolution on June 5.

Several other teachers and parents made similar appeals. Megan Budd, a Fork District teacher and parent, called the $1,147,000 "the bare minimum" to address insurance increases and to retain a student support assistant in each school. Jenny Haywood Bryant, a teacher at Warren County High School, said teachers are "doing more and more with less and less every passing year" and that underfunding forces educators to spend personal funds on classroom supplies.

Miss Scott explained revenue sources in the proposed budget, saying most revenue is from general property taxes (real estate and personal property), with other local revenues from fees, fines and charges for services and additional state and federal funds for designated programs. She said the county typically does not budget for grants until awarded; when grants are later received they increase revenue and are appropriated through supplements.

The proposed budget includes an increase in the county's contribution to schools: the schools' operating allocation was listed at roughly $29.4 million for FY26 (up from $28.65 million in FY25), which Miss Scott said reflects the county taking on an energy bond payment previously paid by the schools. That shift, she said, increases the county's direct costs while freeing the school system from that specific debt payment.

Board members and staff acknowledged competing priorities and limited revenue. One supervisor said the county contracted its proposed budget by about 3 percent and that if every request were funded the tax increase would be roughly 16 percent, which the supervisor said would be untenable. Another board member said the timing of the school budget and the county's decision calendar complicated deliberations between the two boards.

No budget adoption vote occurred at the hearing. County staff and supervisors described the session as a presentation and public comment period; one supervisor said, "At this point, we are not voting tonight. No, sir. We're just making the presentation." The board did later move to adjourn the special meeting.

Ending: Supervisors closed the public-comment portion after dozens of residents spoke and said further budget deliberations will continue before any formal adoption. Several speakers asked the board to reconsider the county's proposed $750,000 increase and instead approve at least $1,147,000 as urged in the school board's resolution.