Turnout low at public hearing for Savannah schools' $882M proposed budget

Four people signed up to speak before the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) board at Wednesday's public hearing on the proposed budget for school year 2024-2025, however only two of the speakers actually showed.

The public hearings mark the next phase of the budget review process, which first entailed an introduction to the school board during their spring retreat in late March. The district then sought community feedback through a survey, which was posted on the district’s recently redesigned website from April 10-24.

The first of the two public hearings held on Wednesday evening kicked off with the SY 2024-2025 Public Hearing on the Budget presentation given by SCCPSS’s Budget Director Paige Cooley. She laid out the district’s proposed preliminary budget, which currently totals $882,802,146.

Once the two speakers shared their thoughts, the meeting ended roughly 20 minutes after it started.

SCCPSS budget hearing draws little interest

At the start of the school board's May 8 informal session, Superintendent Denise Watts, Ed. D., said the development of the budget remains an “iterative and evolving process.” The reason for the presentation at meeting was "to reinforce what our key priorities are and update you as the state sends us new information."

Though Watts said the district wants to "continue to make this a process in which we are getting feedback from our parents, our community stakeholders and also our employees and the board," none of those groups had much to add on Wednesday night.

The first member of the public present to speak was Theresa Watson, president of the Savannah Federation of Teachers. She said she represented 600 professionals (teachers, staff and paraprofessionals) within the school district. Her core message to the board members was to raise SCCPSS employees' wages because "many of them are struggling to make ends meet due to the stagnant wages that they have failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living."

Cost of living adjustments (COLA) for 2024-2025 were mentioned during previous presentations of the budget. April's Financial Advisory Committee meeting version of the budget and the latest iteration in Cooley's presentation included mention of the total 5.5% COLA increase for staff.

Local pharmacist Andrew Amendola was the only other speaker and took issue with the COLA increase among other aspects of the budget. "I don't know where you got the 5.5% increase," he said. "With inflation now, the figures are around 3.5%." He would like to see reduction in force, instead of "proposals [that] include more administration, more employees and higher salaries," especially when enrollment has remained "stagnant or decreased."

SCCPSS Chief Financial Officer Larry Jackson said earlier in the day, during the board's informal session, that the district's enrollment has decreased and will likely do so next year for the fourth straight year to a projected 35,477. For fiscal year 2024, the actual enrollment was 35,543 by the 10th school day.

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Watts clarifies ‘central office’ spending

Also during the informal session, Watts took a moment to highlight Slide 12 of the most recent version of the district’s School Year 2024-25 Budget: Development Process Update.

She wanted the community to know that only four percent of the district's budget for salary and benefits goes toward employees located at “208 Bull Street," which is referred to as SCCPSS's central office. The clarification stemmed from what the district felt was a misrepresentation by a challenger for one of the school board seats of the budget for central office employees' salaries and benefits as quoted in a recent interview.

Jackson explained that due to state requirements for how school districts must report salaries, expenditures and budgets, if an expense is not coded to a school site it is considered "central office." He further clarified that there are a number of district staff that are assigned to schools, but considered "district-wide employees" and therefore are coded as central office. Watts went on to specify, that all but about four percent of the salary and benefits budget goes toward employees who directly support students.

"While I would like to see myself as a direct support, I am in the indirect, in the orange," she said.

The orange referred to indirect group's section of the pie chart on slide 12 of the budget presentation. The indirect group's amount was listed as $19,825,742.00.

Watts added, “There will be a reduction in the upcoming school year of about $800,000, so that four percent will continue to decrease because we cut some central office positions that will give us some cost savings.”

Next public hearing

The next community hearing on the budget will take place 6 p.m. Wednesday May 15 at the Eli Whitney Administrative Complex, 2 Laura Ave in Building G in the Jessie Collier DeLoach Boardroom.

SCCPSS will also hold public meetings on the millage rate at the Whitney Administrative Complex, Building G in the Jessie Collier DeLoach Boardroom at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on June 12 as well as 6 p.m. on June 20.

Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah-Chatham schools holds first 2024-25 budget hearing