School budget $165 million

By Sarah Campbell

scampbell@salisburypost.com

Rowan-Salisbury School System officials had to get creative to balance the current fiscal year budget and next year is likely to be much of the same.

After months of cuts and looming uncertainly about state and federal dollars, the Board of Education adopted a budget that includes more than $165 million in operating costs Monday.

The budget includes $6.1 million in federal stimulus money that will expire at the end of the year.

“That means we’re automatically next year going to start with $6.1 million less,” board Chairman Dr. Jim Emerson said.

Tara Trexler, the school system’s chief financial officer, said the district expects to receive a portion of the $298 million allocated to North Carolina schools through the federal Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act.

“There is a small glimmer of hope there will be jobs bill funding,” Trexler said. “Congress has recognized a need that school systems throughout the country are scrambling to try to make it through the next couple of years.”

Personnel costs make up 83 percent of RSS’ operating costs.

“That is why it’s critical that we minimize the effect of budget cuts as much as we can,” Trexler said.

It is unclear at this time how much funding the $10 billion jobs bill will provide the school system. The state can distribute funding to school districts based on its own primary funding formula or districts’ relative share of federal Title I funds.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates it will support about 160,000 jobs nationwide and about 5,700 in North Carolina.

The Charlotte Observer reports Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools could receive $25 million in new federal money to restore teacher jobs. However, Superintendent Peter Gorman said he prefers to save the money until federal stimulus money expires at the end of the year, creating a “funding cliff.”

Board member Karen South Carpenter said it’s important to take into account that the federal funding will help fill a void.

“There seems to be some sort of impression that the federal government is providing all these extra dollars,” she said. “It’s far from extra, these dollars will offset the cuts and losses we’ve already sustained.

“There is no windfall of dollars that is coming into our possession.”

During the 2009-10 fiscal year the school system had more than $10 million in budget cuts and 137 job loses.

The school system balanced this year’s budget by making more than $1.5 million in cuts, which include:

• Eliminating the exceptional children’s, science and math hiring incentive;

• Eliminating two and a half vacant assistant principal positions;

• Freezing three central office adminstration positions;

• School system’s year-round employees working four 10-hour days this summer instead of the traditional five-day, 8-hour schedule;

• A grant from the Robertson Family Foundation that will pick up the tab for elementary school trips this year, saving the school system $25,000.

The district also slashed costs by reducing transportation costs and eliminating mentoring funds.

The school system will offset the remaining shortfall of more than $700,000 with monies from its $6 million fund balance.

In other school business

The following items were also discussed during Monday’s Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education meeting:

• The board voted to add equine science and agriculture mechanics (small engines) to the course offerings at West Rowan High School. Principal Jamie Durant said the school hired an additional agriculture teacher who will be teaching the new classes.

• Colby Cochran, director of assessments and accountability, presented the school districts ABCs, Adequate Yearly Progress, graduation rate and test score reports. The reports are public record and links to the information are available through the school’s website at rss.k12.nc.us.

• The board discussed its current policial advertising policy. The school district currently does not allow political candidates to advertise in school publications. Board members Karen South?Carpenter and Bryce Beard felt school board candidates should be allowed to purchase advertisements. Attorney Don Sayers said he would look at rewording the policy so that political parties, policies and causes were prohibited to advertise, rather than candidates. The board did not take action. Sayers will present the new policy at the next meeting for board approval.

Contact Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.