On Wednesday, May 27, the School Board Budget Committee met with attorneys Dale Thomas and Chuck Cagle to discuss the expectations for submitting the FY 21 school budget. There have been talks about reducing the school system's budget by several million dollars, however, the legal opinion provided to the Board advised that the school system should receive the same level of funding that it has received in the past from local government (i.e. county).
Working with a short timeframe, several key leaders will be collaborating to ensure that a strong budget is submitted to the county. At a Budget Committee meeting on May 23, the central office team and Budget Committee members discussed a scenario of how the suggested reduction would have impacted the school system. The scenario highlighted drastic cuts, from eliminating 12 teaching positions to doing away with 33.5 teacher assistant positions and much more. Now that the Board has received legal guidance, a fully funded budget proposal will be submitted. The scenario around the drastic cuts will no longer be a discussion, and those positions will not be eliminated.
The Board and the Office of the Superintendent are committed to ensuring that the budget reflects ongoing support for students and staff. If we are funded at the same level as we have been in the past, we will be proposing a bonus to all staff members that differentiates between certified and non-certified employees. Should funding be reduced based on a decline in our enrollment, we will not be able to provide bonuses.
