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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

PELHAM – Pelham City Schools has proposed a budget of $44,805,205 for the upcoming fiscal year with a projected surplus of $745,516 thanks to funding from federal, state and local sources.

This budget has been developed for the fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1 and running through Sept. 30, 2021. It’s a total that is slightly higher than the $43 million for the previous fiscal year.

Around half of the funding for PCS came from local funds, which is targeted for discretionary spending. According to the budget proposal, local funds are boosted by the city’s 1-percent sales tax and a 0.5-percent county wide sales tax.

The 1-percent sales tax passed by the city council has already brought in $5.5 million to help with improvements within the school system.

Funds earmarked by the state of Alabama total around 45 percent of funding, which include allocations for salaries and benefits as well as transportation.

Federal funds contribute around 5 percent of funding, earmarked by the federal government. These will fund Idea Part B for special education, Title I, Title II and Title III funding.

The proposed 2020 budget includes a total of $44 million in expenditures for instructional services, instructional support services, operation and maintenance, auxiliary services, general administrative services and capital outlay, or real property related expenses.

According to the budget all discretionary expenditures are meant to align with Pelham City Schools’ strategic plan to boost items such as school safety, great educators, extracurricular activities, facilities, curriculum, technology, staffing and community support.

The proposal also included payments and projects such as improvements to existing buildings and construction of new ones, with about $4.9 million set aside, while $1.9 million is being set aside for future projects.

The proposal was submitted by Superintendent Dr. Scott Coefield on Sept. 8.