School ?officials prepare for budget cuts

Facing another year of grim budget projections, local school officials are again gearing up for funding cuts.

On March 20, Gov. Pat McCrory released his 2013-15 budget proposal.

The proposed $20.6 billion budget would continue a trend of cuts to education — reducing funding for teaching assistants and local education agencies.

“Our school district budget still remains underfunded at the state and federal levels,” said Tom Forcella, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools superintendent, in an email.

“We expect to make challenging budget decisions in the coming months.”

Both Orange County Schools Spokesman Michael Gilbert and CHCCS Spokesman Jeffrey Nash said the school systems are still just beginning their budget processes.

“This is just the governor’s budget,” said Gilbert. “There are no final numbers yet.”

He said McCrory’s budget must still be approved by the N.C. House of Representatives and the Senate before the school systems can know what to expect.

CHCCS has cut office positions, teachers and teachers’ assistants and reduced spending on supplies and equipment in recent years to absorb hefty funding cuts.

Both school systems have a fund balance, or a reserve fund that can be used to make up for shortfalls in funding.

CHCCS had to use money from the fund balance last year and plans to dip into it again this year, Nash said.

“However, we can only do that for a very short time before you run out of money,” he said.

But McCrory’s budget also takes into account the sacrifices that educators have made in recent years.

With his proposal, teachers would receive a 1 percent pay raise, and the budget includes funding to hire an additional 1,800 licensed, full-time teachers.

At the local level, Nash said, funding will be determined by the Orange County Board of Commissioners.

“I don’t think teacher positions are the ones that the state worries about — it’s the teaching assistants,” he said.

Education has always been a priority for the county, and both school systems are among the best locally funded districts in the state.

Nash said compared to other school districts, CHCCS will be well-funded by local government to adjust for state funding cuts.

“Imagine if we weren’t taxed so highly,” he said.

Orange County Manager Frank Clifton said the past four or five years have been tight fiscally for the county, and this year won’t be any different.

“Every year at this time, there’s a lot of fretting,” he said. “To attempt to be better, you have to remain flexible.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.