MNPS Board Prepares for Budget Season

Tuesday evening’s Metro Nashville Public Schools board meeting was relatively short and simple, with most of the action happening in the preceding committee meetings. The board meeting primarily provided updates and previews of existing processes for Metro schools.

A Teaching and Learning Committee meeting considered math curriculum adoption and English learners. Schools across Tennessee must adopt a new math curriculum that aligns with state standards for the 2023-2024 school year. MNPS is in the process of collecting community feedback on selected curricula, the period for which lasts until Jan. 27. The materials can be accessed online or at the Metropolitan Nashville Education Association office at 531 Fairground Court between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Another presentation in the teaching and learning committee considered MNPS English learner populations and the supports made available to them by the district. EL students — of whom there are 18,843 — account for 21 percent of the district. The Director’s Evaluation Committee provided an overview of the director’s report evaluation process and timeline; the board will discuss a final annual evaluation in July or August. 

The evening’s governance meeting saw changes and rearrangements to a district charter school policy. A summary of changes, which starts on page 50 of the committee's agenda, describes which language was deleted from one policy and moved to another, along with additional procedural updates. A vote to implement these changes passed unanimously, along with a budget committee motion to approve a capital budget request that accounts for changes and improvements to school buildings. This budget will go to the mayor's office to be considered for the Metro budget. Later, in the actual board meeting, the director’s report considered the upcoming budget process for the school district. Battle explained the district’s priorities, including employee compensation, continuation of federally funded initiatives, academic and social and emotional learning integration and operational improvements and school support. The district will present a draft budget to the board on March 28 and at various schools throughout March and April before the school board votes on a budget in April. It’s worth paying attention to how the new state education funding formula affects this process. 

“The reality is that we're tasked with trying to formulate a budget with many unknown factors and without key pieces of information that would inform any budget process, which is how much money we'll have to work with," said Director of Schools Adrienne Battle. "We likely won't see any reliable state-funding estimates until at least late March or early April, after fiscal capacity numbers are generated, which tell us how much of a burden Davison County taxpayers will have to shoulder for the statewide local match for [the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funding formula].” 

Hillwood High School’s Grace Carlson was also acknowledged at the board meeting for receiving a Knowles Teaching Fellowship. District 4 representative Berthena Nabaa-McKinney reminded folks about school options applications, which are open until Feb. 10. District 5 representative Christiane Buggs hinted that she’s not interested in running for reelection, admitting that she “was tapped out after those two years as chair, but being around you all, feeling your energy has made me at least want to complete this term. But you’re not going to see me after this.”