School leaders hold fast on cuts citing damage to education

Beaufort County’s public school leaders on Monday said they could not cut the county school budget for the 2011-2012 any more than they already have without hurting the quality of education the county’s children receive.

At a meeting called to discuss the school system’s spending plan for the coming year, the Beaufort County Board of Education voted 7-1 to not identify any additional cuts to their budget over those made by County Manager Paul Spruill in his spending plan now before the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners.

Board member Terry Williams cast the sole dissenting vote. Board member Mike Isbell had a doctor’s appointment in Durham and was absent from the meeting.

The move likely sets up a show down with county leaders over school funding.

“We need to sit down as grown men and women and work this thing out,” said board member F. Mac Hodges while calling for no additional budget cuts. “The budget we presented to the commissioners is a bare bones budget.”

Spruill’s proposed county budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 calls for giving the school system $13,258,010 with $937,860 of that amount for construction projects and $12,320,150 for its day-to-day operations budget.

The school system requested $12,668,854 for its operations budget and $1.5 million for construction projects.

The $937,860 does not reflect money the school system may get from its share of N.C. Education Lottery proceeds.

Spruill’s proposed budget estimates that the school system will receive $565,206 in lottery proceeds. School leaders estimate that amount to be $481,000 or about $84,000 less than Spruill’s estimate.

The county commissioners are scheduled to continue their budget deliberations at 5:30 p.m. today.

In previous budget discussions, the commissioners have worked to trim Spruill’s recommended $50,945,552 spending plan that calls for a five cents per $100 valuation property tax increase.

Monday’s school board meeting was called after county leaders last week asked public school leaders effect of cuts totaling $1 million to the school capital and operating budgets.

Most school leaders on Monday agreed that until they know the extent of pending cuts in state funding, they cannot estimate the effects of additional cuts in local funding.

But school board member Terry Williams said it was unrealistic to expect the county commissioners to approve the tax increase recommended in Spruill’s budget.

“There’s no way they’re going to pass that tax rate,” he said. “Someone’s going to take a cut … Do you want to be proactive or reactive.”

The school’s budget request to the county included a projected five percent increase in energy costs totaling $152,768; projected increases in retirement and hospitalization insurance costs for employees totaling $74,451, an a projected increase in payments to charter schools due to the increased appropriation from the county totaling $6,485.

The local school system’s allocation of state funds to low wealth counties will decrease from $1.46 million to $1 million for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the school board was told, in part due to increased property values in the county and in part due to the tax rate set by the commissioners.

The school system’s capital budget request to the county included some 51 construction projects.

Some of the costlier projects in the proposed capital budget include $200,000 for systemwide technology expenditures; $95,000 to replace the gymnasium and lobby roof at Bath Elementary School; $170,000 for installation of a drainage system to prevent standing water around Northeast Elementary School; $95,000 to replace an activity bus, and $63,400 to replace a heating and air conditioning pump system at Southside High School.

“We tried to pick the things that were maintenance related and safety related,” school board member Cindy Winstead said. “I don’t know how much more is available to cut and do things to maintain the buildings.”