September 15th Work Session

District 3 Update: My First Board Meeting Since the Election

September 15 Work Session Recap

On September 15, I attended my first Huntsville City Schools Board of Education meeting since winning the District 3 seat. I won't officially be sworn in until November 10, so I have no vote and no seat at the table yet, but I wanted to keep doing what I've done all along: show up, pay attention, and report back. Here's what came out of that meeting, and why it matters for District 3 families.

The 2027-2028 Calendar

The board approved next year's school calendar, and it's a good example of what listening to a community actually looks like in practice. HCS surveyed over 2,300 families and staff members before landing on this calendar, and it came back with 68% support.

The new calendar keeps a full week off for fall break, a full week for Thanksgiving, a full week for spring break, and 11 days for winter break. School starts August 5, 2027, and the last day is May 25, 2028.

Here's the part worth understanding: Alabama law requires 180 instructional days in a school year, no matter how the calendar is built. That's a fixed number the board can't change. What the board can control is how those 180 days get distributed around the breaks, and families were clear about wanting full weeks off rather than the shorter, scattered breaks some calendars use. That early August start date is the tradeoff for keeping those full weeks intact later in the year. The board listened, and I think that's the right call.

Financial Health Check

The board also reviewed where the district stands financially through July, and the short version is: HCS is in solid shape. But I want to explain what these numbers actually mean, because "financial health" gets thrown around a lot without much explanation.

As of July, the district had collected 89% of the revenue it budgeted for the year, and spent 82% of the expenditures it budgeted. Those two numbers moving roughly together, with revenue collection running a bit ahead of spending, is what you want to see. It means the district isn't outspending what's actually coming in.

The district also reported 7.67 months of fund balance in reserve. Fund balance is the district's savings account, money set aside that isn't earmarked for this year's spending. Measuring it in "months" is a way of asking: if all new revenue stopped tomorrow, how long could the district keep operating on what it has saved? Just over seven and a half months is a healthy cushion, well above what most financial guidance recommends for a district this size.

One thing the board discussed that's worth knowing about: Alabama has a state-imposed cap on how much assessed property value can grow year over year for tax purposes, and that cap is slowing the growth of ad valorem (property) tax revenue, one of the district's major local funding sources. In plain terms, even as actual property values in Huntsville rise, the amount the district can collect in taxes off that growth is capped by the state. The board's response so far has been conservative budgeting that keeps the district ahead of that slower growth curve, which is the right instinct. It's also something worth watching closely going forward, since it's a structural constraint on local revenue that isn't going away.

Here's my honest take: financial health on paper isn't the same as making sure every dollar is working as hard as possible for our students and teachers. A healthy reserve and balanced books are the baseline, not the finish line. That's exactly why my top priority between now and when I'm sworn in is to do a real deep dive into the FY27 budget: validate where the money is actually going, see how Huntsville compares to peer districts of similar size, and look for real opportunities to reinvest in classrooms and staff rather than just confirming the numbers add up.

Also Approved That Night

A few other items passed at this meeting that deserve more than a passing mention:

The 2026-27 salary schedule. Most of the raise built into this schedule, a 2% increase across nearly every position, teachers, principals, nurses, classified staff, comes from the state as part of this year's Education Trust Fund budget, not a local decision. But one piece of this schedule is a local choice worth highlighting: our hearing-impaired interpreters. They used to be paid a single flat salary with no way to grow it over time, no matter how many years of experience they built. This schedule adds 10 new experience-based pay steps for that role, directly addressing feedback those staff members raised. For our most experienced interpreters, that's worth up to about 5% more than the old flat rate, on top of everyone's standard increase. It's a small group of employees, but it's exactly the kind of targeted fix that shows the board is listening to the people actually doing the work, not just applying the same formula to everyone.

An SRO agreement renewal with the City of Huntsville. This continues the district's partnership with the city on school resource officers, the police presence that supports school safety across our campuses.

A professional service agreement, along with a few other routine items that keep district operations running.

What's Next

I'm grateful for District 3's trust, and I'm looking forward to officially representing you starting November 10. Between now and then, my focus is on doing the homework: getting deep into the FY27 budget, understanding where we stand against comparable districts, and coming into this seat ready to ask sharp questions rather than just rubber-stamping what's already in motion.

More to come as I keep digging.

You can find the official minutes plus all supporting documents here:
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36030149&MID=28234