HENDERSONVILLE - Henderson County commissioners on June 19 approved a $204.5 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year, one that provides funding for all of the remaining requests for schools, recreation and fire departments without raising taxes or dipping below the county’s policy of maintaining a restricted fund balance of 12%.
Commissioners agreed to give Henderson County Public Schools an additional $2.5 million for operating costs. This request was in addition to the roughly $50.3 million the school system was already allocated in the budget proposal.
The school system was looking for help in increasing staff and coaches’ supplements and providing salary increases for teachers not paid by the state without draining its fund balance.
To fund the $2.5 million for operating costs, commissioners cut $500,000 for capital expenses for the school system, along with $1 million in MRTS funds, a proposal suggested by Commissioner Michael Edney. MRTS is the Maintenance Repair Technology and Security program at Henderson County Public Schools and Blue Ridge Community College.
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With much of the budget decided, commissioners ended their June 3 budget discussion by asking staff to come up with options for how to fund the school system’s additional request, along with a request of $250,000 for BRCC, a request to transfer $325,682 to Solid Waste, a request to give an additional $40,000 in PILOT funds to Mills River and Gerton fire departments, a request to give $7,500 to Pisgah Legal Services and a request to fund a new custodian position at the VFW building at a cost of $54,226.
After a lengthy discussion about the school system’s request June 19, commissioners agreed to give $2.5 million for operating expenses, but reduced money for capital expenses and MRTS. They also agreed to fund the other requests on the table, including BRCC’s.
However, the county was still $113,000 shy of maintaining its 12% fund balance policy after funding the requests. Commissioners broke for a lunch closed session as finance staff worked to close the gap.
Suggestions to find the money included holding off for a year on replacing high-mileage vehicles and not reimbursing the fund balance for money used last year to purchase new vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office.
After an hour break,Assistant County Manager Amy Brantley presented a budget that funded all of the remaining requests and maintained the 12% restricted fund balance by removing funding for two administration (non-patrol) vehicles at the Sheriff’s Office at a cost of $117,678. This leaves $4,341 in unallocated fund balance above the 12% policy.
The vote to approve the $204.5 million budget was unanimous, and comes after a year of negotiating, many meetings and revisions and a public hearing.
“The county has no money of its own. It all comes from the taxpayers,” County Manager John Mitchell said before Wednesday’s vote. “In many ways, the most important and sacred thing that the BOC does is decide where those resources go, because they do come out of the back pockets of every single property owner in the county and also the people who generate sales tax.”
Information about the budget can be found at www.hendersoncountync.gov/budget.
School funding discussion
While several commissioners expressed support for the school system, they also wanted to maintain the 12% fund balance policy.
The county will look to borrow a large amount of money in May or June of 2025 and a 12% fund balance would help the county’s bond rating and interest rate, Brantley said.
Schools Superintendent Mark Garrett answered questions from commissioners throughout the morning and into the afternoon, defending the school system’s need for a fund balance and its desire to increase staff supplements.
The school system has about 900 licensed teachers, Garrett said, including 67 staff paid through local funds instead of state funds. Commissioners asked how many vacancies the school system currently had and if teachers were really “leaving in droves,” as speakers during public comment claimed.
Garrett said the school district has a low turnover rate, and actually has the fourth-best retention rate in the state. Staff supplements are still needed, however, to compete with the larger Buncombe County Schools system and even South Carolina, which offer higher supplements or better pay.
He also said the district has only about 10 to 15 vacancies at this time, all of which he expects to be filled by the start of the school year, because it began filling vacancies earlier in the year as retirements were announced, instead of waiting. The supplements, which average about $4,100, help keep the number of vacancies low and prevent turnover and the need to hire.
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All staff members receive supplements, Garrett said, at 9% of their salary for certified staff and 6.75% for non-certified staff.
When questioned about hiring principals, vice principals and Central Office staff, Garrett said they haven’t had any trouble filling those positions, which led some commissioners to suggest that staff in those roles didn’t need supplements or the same amount of supplement.
Garrett argued that one reason the school system has high interest in those positions and is able to promote applicants from within is because the supplements prevent future candidates from leaving the district. And the supplements for those positions definitely encourage people to apply, he added.
Chairwoman Rebecca McCall and Edney suggested that the School Board could look at who gets paid what when it comes to supplements, especially if the main goal is to increase incentives for teachers.
Commissioner Daniel Andreotta questioned why the school system didn’t use more of its fund balance for operating expenses, saying county departments such as Parks and Recreation and the Sheriff’s Office don’t have fund balances.
Garrett said the school system likes to have enough money in the fund balance to cover its operations for two months in case of emergency. Andreotta said he wouldn’t have a problem helping the schools if something unexpected occurred.
BRCC President Laura Leatherwood spoke briefly to explain the college’s request for $250,000, which will come on top of the about $11 million already provided in the budget. Leatherwood said the additional money was also needed to cover operating expenses such as an increase in utility costs.
To hear the full discussion, visit hendersoncountync.gov/boc and select “Video Broadcasts.”
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