Budget Hearing for Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education - May 16, 2024
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Budget Hearing for Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education - May 16, 2024
The Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by Councilmember Porterfield, held a hearing on May 16, 2024, to review the proposed FY2025 operating budget for Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). Director of Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle, School Board Budget Chair Frida Player, and CFO Jorge Robles presented the budget, highlighting student achievement gains, funding priorities, and the need for a one-time ESSER bridge fund. Council members asked questions about employee compensation, program sustainability, and fiscal reserves.
Discussion Items
- MNPS Achievements & Context: Dr. Battle reported that MNPS is a Level 5 TVAAS district for two consecutive years, ranked third in math growth and sixth in reading growth among the top 100 largest U.S. districts, and one of only two urban districts in the top 10 for both. She noted partnerships with universities and a recent ERS case study highlighting effective ESSER fund use.
- Proposed Operating Budget: The board’s initial request of $63 million was adjusted to $41.6 million in the mayor’s proposed budget, plus $18 million one-time for textbooks. The $41.6 million funds a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and step increases for all employees, as well as inflationary contract increases. The total MNPS operating budget would be $1.247 billion.
- ESSER Bridge Funding: CFO Robles explained that $77 million in one-time fund balance transfers (including $66 million from the prior year and $11 million new) would sustain critical programs originally funded by federal ESSER dollars, such as advocacy centers, peace centers, navigators, and literacy support. The district plans to eventually move some of these programs into the operating budget.
- Employee Compensation: Several council members (Cash, Allen, Cortez) asked about increasing the COLA beyond 3.5% and raising minimum pay to $20/hour. MNPS confirmed that additional funding from the council would be needed to increase the COLA. School Board Chair Player noted that the board’s top priorities are employee compensation, continuity of ESSER-funded programs, and operational stability.
- School Board Pay and Professional Development: Councilmember Cash raised the issue of school board member pay (currently $14,560, unchanged since 2003) and requested funding for a pay study. Board members noted that comparable districts pay $30,000, and travel/professional development costs are underfunded. They asked for a transparent process to increase board compensation and a line item for travel.
- Specific Programs: Questions covered literacy investments ($1.7 million for literacy coaches and specialists), social-emotional learning programs (evaluated via Vanderbilt PIR and surveys), restorative practice assistants (in all middle and high schools), navigator program (every student assigned a caring adult), and textbook adoption ($18 million for science curriculum next). Councilmember Bradford asked about the fund balance impact: after the $77 million transfer, the district expects to have 4–6% above the required 17% reserve.
- Insurance and Fees: CFO Robles noted a 12.8% insurance increase ($16.376 million), with employees also facing higher premiums due to high claims post-COVID. AP exams remain funded, and the ACT is covered twice per student (once junior, once senior).
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; the hearing was informational.
- MNPS will identify approximately $15 million in budget cuts to balance its operating budget, but has not made final decisions, pending state TISA allocation and council action.
- Council members expressed support for further increasing employee COLA if additional funds become available, and for funding a school board pay study.
- Next steps: Budget work sessions begin May 28; wish lists due May 23 (edited versions June 6); public hearing on June 4 at 6:30 p.m. during the regular council meeting.
Additional Information
- The meeting included announcements about upcoming community budget meetings: May 18 (Northwest YMCA), May 25 (Southeast Community Center and Hermitage Library).
- Council members noted the importance of clear communication regarding any future COLA increases to avoid confusion, referencing a prior year’s miscommunication.
Meeting Transcript
It is Thursday, May 16th, and I am calling our budget and finance uh budget hearing meeting to order. Thank you all so much for joining us. Um, we were trying to give a few minutes to allow some more committee members to make it. So thank you for everyone that was able to make it. Um I do have a few announcements, and the teacher and me is repeating these announcements every day because we have different people joining us every day. Um so we do have budget hearings. Today is the last one for this week, and then we have two on next week. Um, your wish lists are due on May the 23rd for council members, and you will have an edited wish list that is due on June the 6th. That is the version after the public hearing. If you want to make edits to your wish list, you can do so up until June the 6th. Um, these budget work sessions will be starting on May the 28th. So that is the time when the committee will work together and look at everyone's wish list and work through all of the budget requests that we have put in. I did want to remind people that we are having some community meetings. So thank you for those of you who came out to the Bellevue meeting on the 18th. Um, excuse me, on uh this past Monday. Our next meeting is on May 18th at the Northwest YMCA, located at 3700 Ashland City Highway, and that will be at 2 p.m. We will have one Saturday, May 25th at the Southeast Community Center, located at 5260 Hickory Hollow Parkway at 10 a.m. And we will have one on Saturday, May 25th at the Hermitage Library, located at 3700 James K. Lane at 2 p.m. Our public hearing will be Tuesday, June 4th during our regularly scheduled council meeting, and that will be at 6 30 p.m. If you are a budget and finance committee member, please put up your yellow sign so that members of the view and audience will know that you are a committee member. If you are not on the committee, please take down your sign so that we can eliminate confusion. There were some questions that have been asked to departments. Um we have started to receive some of those answers. Those answers are put in our QA folder in the SharePoint. So if you go to Nashville.gov on the right hand side, you will see a picture of Vice Mayor Angie Henderson. If you click on Vice Mayor's picture, that will take you to the council page. There's a navigation bar on your left hand side. If you scroll down to council resources and click that link, then there will be an operational budget link. And this the first link for our uh constituents, that first link is the citizens guide to the budget, which is very helpful and it will answer a lot of your budget questions. That second link is going to be the operational budget guidelines for twenty uh for fiscal year 25. So colleagues, you can click on that link and it will have resources available for you. The third folder in that link is where the uh budget questionnaires live. So for each of the departments that we hear from in our departments today, their questionnaires are in that folder. So please make sure you're you are reviewing those prior to the budget hearings. Um, but there will also be a folder for our QA. So any questions that you ask that we don't get the answers to, those answers are uploaded there. And I believe that those are all of my announcements. So uh joining us for our first presentation, it's the board of education, and we have Dr. Adrian Battle with us today, and she will have the opportunity to introduce uh who she has with uh with her today. And thank you to our other elected officials that are here, our school board members, and I'll let Dr. Battle acknowledge you all. Um and colleagues uh for the Board of Education for their budget. It is in section I of your budget book, and that starts on page 430. And with that, Dr. Battle, you are recognized. Thank you so much, Chair Porterfield, and good afternoon to um this budget committee. We appreciate your time um and attention to um the budget details for the board of education. I'd like to introduce um who is here with me, our budget chair, board member um Frida Player. Um, I'll be turning it over to her in just a moment, and also our Chief Financial Officer, CFO, uh Jorge Robles.
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