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As the fall semester gets underway, the Chambers County Board of Education held its second of two public hearings on the fiscal year 2025 school budget on Wednesday. 

Chief School Financial Officer Cassandra Allen presented information about the upcoming budget, funding sources and how funds will be allocated during the meeting. She prefaced the presentation by reminding the audience that the budget presentation is subject to review by the Alabama State Department of Education. 

The approved budget is due to the ASDOE by September 16. Adjustments may be made before the final approval is granted by the state. 

Allen said that funding first starts with the state legislators who make a recommendation for the state BOE budget through the Alabama Education Trust Fund. From there, the CCSD’s budget is decided based on the student count (ADM) and teacher county (FTE). That funding is awarded through foundation programs.

“[The budgeting process] takes all of us to get together and across the district, it’s really a lot of work, and it’s a continuous process, we work on it, we work on it, we work on it,” Allen said, adding that the budget is usually amended throughout the year. 

The total state funding allocated for 2025 is currently estimated at $28,576,756 which is $2,475,680 less than 2024. However, Allen said there are many funding sources that they expect to hear back from before completing the budget so that number is likely to change. 

Some of the funds for programs like career tech, nurse allocation and JROTC are not confirmed in the budget yet. 

The total federal funding for 2025 is currently estimated at $3,209,599 which is an increase of $144,700 from 2024. This is because the district will receive Title III funding for 2025, which is used to support English Learner students. 

One major change to the budget for 2025 compared to 2024 is that the ESSER funds, emergency education funding during the pandemic, will run out at the end of September. However, the Child Nutrition Program is projected to receive $3,480,760 in 2025, which is about a $189,000 increase.

The current local funding estimate is $9,385,000 which is about $500,000 less than 2024. The school district receives funding from county and district ad valorem tax, sales tax, alcohol sales tax and business privilege tax. Allen said that the figure from the county commission ($100,000) is an estimate based on past funding.

As a public record, a copy of the budget is available upon request from the school board.