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The Troy City Board of Education approved a $23.6 million budget on Thursday night.

That budget was down from a $28.6 million budget for 2024 fiscal year budget. The dramatic change in the budget was the result of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding that will expire on Sept. 30. ESSER funding was issued by the federal government during the pandemic to offset expenses related to COVID challenges. THE FY 2025 budget includes $2.8 million in federal funding compared to  funding $8.6 million in FY2024, which included ESSER funding. 

Troy City Schools Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Thomas said the expiration of federal COVID funding has caused the school system to be more careful with its budget, but the school system remained on solid financial footing. 

According to the budget, there is a slight increase in student enrollment, up from 1,693 students in September  2023 to 1,705 students enrolled in September 2024. The system also saw a slight increase in the number of teacher units from 98.86 to 99.00 – a change of 1.02 teacher units. On the administration side, the number of principals (three), assistant principals (two-and-a-half), counselors (four), librarians (three) and career tech director (.25) all remained the same.

Overall, the staff of Troy City Schools includes 210 teachers who average 13.4 years of teaching experience. Of the 210 teachers, 68.4 percent hold a master’s degree or higher.

There was also a rise in salaries from FY 2024 to FY 2025 dues to the 2 percent pay increase approved by the Alabama Legislature earlier this year. Total salaries rose from $6.8 million to $7 million for FY2025.

The school system also has $21.5 million in debt from four bond issues dating back to 2011. The debt service on those bonds is $1.595 million, or 6.4 percent of the annual budget.

The school system averages about $1.6 million in expenses per month and will have an estimated $8.8 million in reserve for operation expenses as of Sept. 30. Based on budget estimates, the school system has enough reserve revenue to operate for about five-and-a-half months.

In other business:

• Thomas recognized Joyce Curry, TCS Child Nutrition Program director, as one of five CNP directors in the state to receive the Healthy Meals Incentive Recognition Award. Curry has been invited to attend the Fall 2024 Healthy Meals Summit on Oct. 21-23 in Las Vegas, Nev. The meals summit is an invitation only event that focuses on improving the nutritional quality of school meals.

• Thomas also recognized Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) who recently presented a check for $5,000 to Troy City Schools to be used for educational purposes. Daniels represents Alabama’s 53rd District. The check was from the State Executive Commission Community Services Grant Committee. Thomas said she was extremely grateful to receive this donation check and was thankful to Rep. Daniels for submitting this grant application on behalf of schools in Alabama.

• The board also approved an emergency measure to purchase a 5-ton HVAC unit from the state approved bid list. A HVAC unit at Troy Elementary School needed replacing.

• The Beta Club was approved to travel to La Grange, Ga., for the Beta Leadership Summit.

• A floor cleaning machine and three desks were approved as surplus property at TES.

• The board also approved a bid for $25,222 from Bailey Brothers for a new sound system.