The Murfreesboro City Schools have officially set their budget for the upcoming school year. The budget allows for continued growth and success for the local school system and the students and faculty that make up the schools.

From the Murfreesboro City Schools

When building a fiscally sound budget for 8,400 plus students, 3 main objectives drive every decision:

• Listen to the needs of students, staff and community.
• Strengthen structures to anticipate and respond to change.
• Build a foundation for the future.

The $65,776,937 Murfreesboro City Schools budget was developed based on infrastructure and personnel essential to assure the success of Murfreesboro's children. It is constructed on an enrollment of 8419 students, which includes 7905 Regular Education Students, 292 Pre-K Students, 147 Special Education Students and 75 Special Education Pre-K Students. This is a student increase of 374 students over the current school year, and an increase of 819 (10.8%) from the 2014-2015 projected budget. Because of its student enrollment, Murfreesboro City is among the 25 largest school districts in the state.

Murfreesboro City Schools's vision is to create a culture of collaborative learning that meets the needs of the whole child assuring success in the global community. Therefore, decisions are based on how those needs can best be met.

Much of the budget remains comparable to the 2014-15 budget; however, some areas have increased to meet the needs of the expanding student population. The budget includes the addition of 20 teachers, 3 educational assistants, 4 new buses and 3 bus teams, a database administrator and two additional maintenance staff members. Other staff members have been budgeted to respond to the needs of student subgroups including psychologists, a speech pathologist, Comprehensive Development Class (CDC) and English as Second Language (ESL) teachers.

"When you experience the growth that we saw last year and project for this year, you have to anticipate hiring to meet the needs of the students," says Dr. Linda Gilbert, Director of Schools. "Murfreesboro is growing and increasing in diversity. And our budget must respond to that growth and to that diversity."

A 4% raise is also included in the 2015-16 budget for all personnel following the precedent of the announcement by the Governor of a 4% raise for teachers. This is the first raise for Murfreesboro City School employees since the 2013-14 school year. The budget also includes an adjustment to the substitute teacher pay.

Funding also includes capital outlay projects including refurbishing two gym floors and a library, various replacement furniture for Reeves-Rogers and Northfield, a fence for John Pittard's baseball field, and security enhancements.

"Not only must we respond to growth but we must also respond to the age of our buildings. Our maintenance staff does an excellent job with repurposing and refurbishing our physical plant. But sometimes, furniture and flooring just have to be replaced"

"Murfreesboro City Schools is preparing for extensive growth in the next five years," says Gary Anderson, Director of Finance and Administrative Services, "I believe this budget will be found to be comprehensive and resourceful."

Murfreesboro City Schools is a district of twelve schools committed to the academic and personal success of each child.