Photo by Ingrid Schnader
The Homewood City Schools Board of Education building, lcoated on Dale Avenue near Trinity United Methodist Church, houses administrative offices and meeting rooms. The monthly Board of Education meetings are typically held here.
The Homewood school system plans to spend $98.8 million in fiscal 2027, down slightly from the roughly $100 million budget for 2026, according to the proposed budget presented to the school board Tuesday.
Total revenues are expected to be $91.3 million, also down slightly from $91.7 million in the 2026 budget.
That means expenditures are expected to exceed revenues by about $7.5 million, pulling the school system’s overall fund balance down to $49.5 million by the end of fiscal 2027 — Sept. 30, 2027.
General fund expenditures are expected to exceed revenues by $2.8 million, Chief School Financial Officer Lynn Buch said. Much of that is due to the 2% pay increase for all school employees mandated by the state Legislature, Buch said. Salaries alone will rise by $329,000, and the cost of health insurance is going up 15% (amounting to $1.18 million), while payments into the teacher retirement system are expected to rise by $111,000, Buch said.
The total amount expected to be spent on salaries and benefits in fiscal 2027 is $66.2 million. That will include about 20 new positions, including teachers and support personnel, Buch said.
The breakdown for expected revenues in fiscal 2027 is $51.7 million from city, county and other local revenues, $32.9 million from the state and $2.9 million from the federal government. Comparatively, the budget for 2026 was $53.8 million in local revenues, $34.8 million from the state and $3 million from the federal government.
The Homewood Board of Education plans to spend $4.6 million on capital projects in fiscal 2027, while only taking in capital project revenues of $2.1 million, including $1.2 million from the state and $862,000 from Jefferson County, Buch said.
The state for the last 15 years or so each year has provided school systems with “advancement in technology” funds from excess revenues coming into the education trust fund. School systems are allowed to use that money for capital improvements, infrastructure upgrades and equipment.
For 2027, that amount coming to the Homewood Board of Education is expected to be $3.5 million, Buch said. That amount likely will be cut in half in fiscal 2028 and could go away entirely in fiscal 2029, she said.
The school system has about $16.2 million in outstanding debt and makes annual debt payments totaling $2.2 million, Buch said.
The ending balance for the school system’s general fund on Sept. 30, 2027, is expected to be about $20.6 million, which amounts to about three months of operating costs, Buch said. It costs the school system about $6.7 million to operate each month, she said.
As of Tuesday, the school system had 4,377 students enrolled, including 1,291 at Homewood High, 1,037 at Homewood Middle, 875 at Edgewood Elementary, 681 at Hall Kent Elementary and 493 at Shades Cahaba Elementary.
The school district employs 683 employees, including 383 teachers, 238 non-certified support personnel, 26 administrators, 16 certified support staff, 14 counselors and five librarians. Of the 383 teachers, 269 (70%) are funded with state dollars, while 110 (29%) are funded with local money, and four (1%) are funded with federal money, according to the budget.
The percentage of teachers with advanced degrees is 80% at Homewood High, 70% at Homewood Middle, 74% at Edgewood Elementary, 62% at Hall Kent Elementary and 67% at Shades Cahaba Elementary.
The average years of teaching experience among teachers is 15 at Homewood High, 13 at Homewood Middle, Edgewood Elementary and and Shades Cahaba Elementary and 11 at Hall Kent Elementary, records show.
Teachers who work nine months earn anywhere from $51,524 for first-year teachers with a bachelor’s degree to $65,209 for first-year teachers with a doctorate. Nine-month teachers with 35 years of experience earn anywhere from $74,813 with a bachelor’s degree to $99,493 with a doctorate.
Pay for new certified personnel working 12 months ranges from $64,749 with a bachelor’s degree to $81,947 with a doctorate. Those with 35 years of experience can earn anywhere from $94,016 to $125,031.
Pay for administrators ranges from $94,826 for first-year administrators with a bachelor’s degree to $174,760 for the most experienced administrators with a doctorate
Tuesday was the first public hearing for the 2027 budget year, which begins Oct. 1 A second public hearing has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 15, and the school board likely will vote on the budget at that meeting. Buch said she will be prepared to share more details about the 2027 budget at that time.
