After eight months of discussions, the Hamilton County school board approved a $705 million budget Thursday that gives employees a raise and allocates additional funds to sports and arts programs.
The board voted unanimously to pass the 2026-27 budget. It now heads to the Hamilton County Commission, which serves as the funding body for the district, for approval.
Since at least October, school board members have repeatedly said their top budget priority was to increase compensation since the district’s 2025-26 budget did not include an across-the-board raise or increases based on years of service.
The budget sets aside $14 million to create an updated compensation model.
On average, certified staff — such as teachers, counselors and librarians — will see a 3.5% pay increase, while general staff — like educational assistants and administrators — will receive a 2.25% increase.
Hamilton County school board sends $705M budget to County Commission
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In order to fund the wage increase while also accounting for other increased expenses, the budget cuts 5% from the central office and reduces school-based staff by 2%.
At the school level, the staffing cuts are largely due to changes in enrollment and increases in the teacher-to-student ratios for English as a new language and career and technical education teachers. The staffing ratio for other classroom teachers remains the same.
After accounting for the raises and reductions, the school board had $2 million left to invest in other priorities.
Members elected to allocate $1.1 million to the athletics department. That money will be used to improve coaching stipends and support operational expenses, like transportation and security. The maintenance department received $400,000 to replace aging equipment, and fine arts and band got $500,000.
School board member Ben Connor, D-Chattanooga, noted Thursday that those investments were the inverse of the results of the district’s community budget survey. Survey respondents ranked four options from highest to lowest priority. Facilities and maintenance investment was ranked second, while athletics ranked last.
The board needs to more thoroughly address its buildings, Connor said.
“I know that we’re working toward it, but there’s a lot of schools that are crumbling around our kids that we need to be thinking about,” he said.
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While $2 million may seem like a lot of money, said school board member Ben Daugherty, R-Signal Mountain, from a facilities perspective, it’s tough for that to make a big dent in what’s happening across the county.
The investment in athletics represents a roughly 25% increase in that department’s budget, and the fine arts and band funding increases that budget by nearly 80%, he said.
That’s “a historical investment in something that so many of our kids contribute to and participate in that has a lasting impact on the community and the school system as a whole,” said Daugherty, who chairs the Finance Committee. “I think it’s a testament to what this board has worked hard to do as a body and the direction we’re going.”
Athletics has always taken a back seat compared to most other things, school board member Steve Slater, R-Soddy-Daisy, said.
Coaching stipends haven’t been looked at in 29 years, or since the Chattanooga City and Hamilton County school systems merged. That’s why the board is looking to increase stipends, he said.
Superintendent Justin Robertson is expected to present the budget to the County Commission on Wednesday before commissioners finalize the county’s fiscal year budget in June. The county’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Contact education reporter Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.