Guilford County schools seek nearly $25 million more, cancel May 1 classes

Guilford County Schools will cancel class for students on May 1 and ask Guilford County for nearly $25 million more as the district braces for another budget fight that could shape next year’s staffing, salaries and classroom technology.

The Guilford County Board of Education voted after a public hearing to keep the superintendent’s 2026-27 budget recommendation unchanged and send it to the Board of County Commissioners. The request is built on a five-year model that ties county support to salary, retirement and health-care costs linked to General Assembly action, along with enrollment and consumer price index changes.

At the center of the request is money for people and equipment. Guilford County Schools said it is seeking a teacher pay supplement increase of $10 million in the first year and $9.2 million in the second year. It also wants $3 million a year for five years to move classified staff pay closer to market value. Another $19.53 million is requested to replace laptops and tablets bought with federal ESSER money during the pandemic.

The district’s operating budget proposal is just over $307 million, a 9% increase, and includes $3.68 million for school safety and security improvements such as weapons-detection systems, security cameras and upgrades to entrances and door locks. State funding makes up 57.4% of the operating budget, county funding 36.1% and the rest comes from federal sources. Guilford County approved a $12.3 million, or 5%, school funding increase last year after a 4% increase the year before.

May 1 became part of the budget story because the district turned it into an optional teacher workday. Guilford County Schools said thousands of educators plan to travel to Raleigh that day to press state leaders for more support for public schools. The district linked the decision to the Leandro ruling and the legislature’s failure to pass a budget, and said a similar educator event was held on May 1, 2019.

During the meeting, Guilford County Association of Educators vice president Edwena Miles said public schools are already under pressure from private school vouchers, reduced federal program funding and tax cuts for corporations and billionaires. Board Chair Deena Hayes said competitive salaries are about keeping experienced educators in classrooms and protecting student success.

The timing matters for county leaders, too. Guilford County’s fiscal year 2026 adopted budget was approved June 18, 2025, and the county manager’s recommended budget presentation for the next cycle is scheduled for May 21. That puts the school board’s vote directly into the county’s budgeting calendar, where the size of the final school appropriation will decide how much relief reaches classrooms, staff paychecks and aging devices next year.