Board of Ed Revises Budget
Originally Published: January 28, 2024
Pares Down County Ask By $4.5M
After initially drafting a budget asking for $14M in additional funding from the County Commissioners, the Board of Education (BOE) has revised its request to just $9.5M. These changes came after the Commissioners received a budget briefing from CFO Jeanette Cudmore at their meeting on January 23rd. Cudmore told the Commissioners at least $21M in additional revenue may be needed in order for the County to meet the needs of its residents based on budget requests already received.
Assistant Superintendent of Fiscal Services, Tammy McCourt, explained to the Board of Education that initial projections of a loss in state funding have been updated based on newly received information. Due to this change, the BOE’s budget numbers were adjusted which reduced the $14M ask of the County down to $12.7M. Using $3.2M from the BOE’s fund balance to cover recurring costs like Bus Driver pay and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) funding allowed the BOE to reduce their additional funding request to $9.5M. “We’re breaking a cardinal rule” by funding recurring costs from fund balance, Superintendent Smith said. “We heard the Commissioners loud and clear yesterday that because of actions taken over 20 years, they have systematically reduced the property tax, income tax, and homestead tax credit,” decisions which, Smith said, have the County looking at a revenue issue. “If we don’t do something different, we will have to modify the community in which we live. We don’t have enough money to meet the expectations of our community,” Smith continued.
BOE Chair Karin Bailey pointed out that even if the County provides the additional $9.5M, it will still “drastically change how the school system operates” because of what is being cut, including Freshman Academies and Dual Enrollment in high schools. Bailey asked for the “Plan B, C, and D” budgets to identify what could be cut to reduce costs if there is a need to do so. Both Smith and McCourt acknowledged those discussions are being had to find options. Bailey said if the school system is flat funded in FY25, meaning no additional County funding is received, then it will drive up the FY26 budget ask–just prolonging the problem.
Recent talk of staff being shuffled between schools is no longer a concern. Blueprint funding requirements could have caused an issue relating to teacher pay and student funding requirements which would have necessitated moving staff to satisfy certain benchmarks so state funding was not reduced. However, Smith said FY25 will now be a “hold harmless year” for those Blueprint conditions so “we will not make staffing decisions based on employee compensation level.” Efforts are being made to fill vacant positions with staff from jobs cut due to sunsetting COVID funds.
