Getting worseSchoolsCONFIRMED

The schools are spending down reserves on purpose

Hoover schools have budgeted to spend far more than they collect for several years running, drawing reserves down by tens of millions, while a property-tax election authorized years ago has never been called.

Where it stands

Getting worse

Hits residents

7/10

Years covered

2018–2025

Sources

3 linked

$271M
FY2026 schools budget, against $243M in projected revenue: $27M
Planned draw on the district’s fund balance in FY2026: $5M
City of Hoover’s general fund cash contribution to schools in FY2025

What happened

Hoover City Schools’ FY2026 budget spends $271 million against $243 million in revenue, planning to draw the district’s fund balance from about $159 million down to about $132 million. The FY2025 budget carried a $27.4 million gap and FY2023 a $17.4 million gap. District officials attribute the pressure to the loss of $19 million in pandemic-era federal funds and to special-education costs, which have risen 74 percent since 2014 while the federal government funds roughly 8.5 percent of the mandated share. In 2018 the school board asked the City Council to seek legislative authority for a 2.4-mill property tax increase, and the Legislature granted that authority in a following year that no reviewed source establishes precisely. As of a 2025 election questionnaire, the election had still never been held, and then-candidate Nick Derzis was among those on record opposing an increase. Board President Alan Paquette called the trajectory “unsustainable” in September 2025.

Timeline

Nov 13, 2018
Board votes unanimously to seek council and legislative authority for a 2.4-mill property tax election.
Hoover Sun (hooversun.com) ↗
Sep 10, 2024
Board approves a $258 million FY2025 budget with a $27.4 million gap.
Hoover Sun (hooversun.com) ↗
Aug 9, 2025
Election questionnaire confirms the tax authority was granted years earlier and the election has never been held.
Hoover Sun (hooversun.com) ↗
Sep 9, 2025
Board approves a $271 million FY2026 budget; President Paquette calls the path “unsustainable.”
Hoover Sun (hooversun.com) ↗

Who's involved

Kevin Maddox
Superintendent, Hoover City Schools
Alan Paquette
Board president; called the budget path unsustainable
Michele McCay
Chief financial officer, Hoover City Schools
Mayor Nick Derzis
Opposed a property-tax increase as a 2025 candidate

The other side

District officials frame the deficits as planned reserve spending on capital work rather than operating insolvency, and point to the end of federal COVID relief and unfunded special-education mandates as the drivers.

Open questions

Whether the board will ever call the 2.4-mill election, and whether the legislative authority expires, is not established.
The exact year the Legislature granted the tax authority could not be confirmed.

Sources (3)

Last checked July 29, 2026