CFO Kelly Kluttz presented the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools FY 2026-27 budget to the Board of Education Monday night — a $1.97 billion operating plan built on assumptions, because North Carolina still has not passed a state budget for this year or next.
That single fact shapes everything that follows. CMS is planning for 139,000 students without knowing what the state will pay its teachers, what benefits will cost, or whether the funding formulas will change. For planning purposes, Kluttz assumed a 3% state salary increase and a 4.09% bump in benefits. Those are guesses. Educated guesses, but guesses.
The ask to Mecklenburg County: $698.6 million in operational appropriations — $25.1 million in new recurring funding plus a $6 million one-time request for student devices.
Where the Money Goes
The largest recurring item is a 5% certified supplement increase for teachers — the fourth consecutive year CMS has made this request, and the fourth consecutive year the county has funded it. Kluttz was direct: many districts across North Carolina are cutting positions or freezing supplements. Charlotte-Mecklenburg has continued investing. The state's failure to pass a budget makes the local supplement the only lever CMS controls.
The teacher pay structure matters here. North Carolina funds roughly 84% of teacher compensation; the local supplement covers the remaining 16%. A 5% increase at the state level moves the needle by about $4.20 per $100. A 5% local supplement increase moves it by about 80 cents. CMS is doing what it can with the smaller number.
Beyond teacher pay, the budget includes the final phase of classified staff market alignment, charter school pass-through increases required by law, and the operational cost of opening two new schools plus absorbing utility rate increases.
The $6 million one-time request funds student device replacement — part of an ongoing partnership with the county to maintain a sustainable refresh cycle. It is shown separately from recurring items because it is not built into the base budget.
The Trade-Offs
Before asking the county for a dollar, CMS cut $6.6 million internally.
The cuts: 26 central office positions eliminated ($3.8 million), 14 transportation monitor positions collapsed (chronically vacant for five years), 46.5 lunchroom monitor FTEs redistributed to existing school staff, and shared digital platform costs consolidated. The central office reductions reflect a shift to a pre-K-12 support model — specialists who previously served K-12 and pre-K separately now cover the full continuum.
Board Member Charlitta Hatch pressed Kluttz on whether those were the only trade-offs. The answer was more complicated than the slide suggested. Kluttz explained that department chiefs make internal budget adjustments continuously — when a Microsoft contract goes up $200,000, Chief Technology Officer Dr. Candace Salmon-Hosey doesn't come to the board for more money. She absorbs it.
Superintendent Crystal Hill put it plainly: "We started this year with these words — we are not getting any more money for anything. So if there's something in your division that you would like to do, you can count on the same budget that you had this current year for next year. And it might be less."
Every chief was told to figure it out. They did. The trade-offs on the presentation slide are only the ones large enough to change a purpose-function code. The smaller ones happen all year long and show up in monthly budget amendment reports.
The Capital Ask
Separately, CMS is requesting $32.96 million in capital outlay for an estimated 305 maintenance projects identified through the district's deferred maintenance list and facility condition assessment. The largest investments target HVAC and site improvements, with additional work in plumbing, roofing, flooring, electrical, and paving. A 6% contingency is built in for cost overruns.
What Comes Next
The board votes on the budget April 28. A public hearing is scheduled for the next regular meeting. Between now and then, the detailed budget book — which the board approves at the purpose-function level — will be available for review.
One week ago, Mecklenburg County's own commissioners paused their capital improvement plan and shifted $30 million to cover a budget gap. The county is CMS's primary local funder. Both bodies are building budgets against the same constraint: a state government in Raleigh that has not passed a budget in over a year.
The $698.6 million request will land on a county budget table that is already tight. The question is not whether the money is justified. The question is whether there is enough of it.