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School Board puts finishing touches on 2009-10 budget

Monday afternoon meeting finalizes bare-bones budget

By Britt Combs | The McDowell News

Published: August 31, 2009

Months later than normal, McDowell County Public Schools have a budget for the 2009-10 school year. The process that is usually completed in early summer at the latest dragged out to the end of August, thanks to the protracted state budget negotiations and local uncertainty about student enrollment for this year.

The School Board met in a special session Monday afternoon to hear reports from Superintendent Ira Trollinger and budget staff. Trollinger had asked for the meeting to take place after the start of school. That's because state money is allotted based on enrollment, and that can't accurately be predicted.

The numbers are now in, and the last piece of the puzzle fell into place to finalize the budget.

Total enrollment for McDowell public schools is down 139 students from last year. This is a smaller decline than the projected 160 students.

Most schools saw a decline, except for an increase of 23 students at North Cove. The Early College has seen an increase or 49 – that school has its first senior class for the new school year, but also a much larger freshman class than in the past, with 62 entering freshmen, as opposed to last year's 39 freshmen.

Each student more or fewer means several thousand dollars, he told the board. In other years a few here or there made little difference in the school system's annual budget, but the new school year is not like other years in any way.

Programs, material budgets, payroll and other items have been cut to the bone over the summer, with an eye to preserving as many jobs as possible. Meanwhile the state has called for reversions (giving back money already allotted and budgeted) from school systems. Reversions in the past school year have cost McDowell schools "almost $1 million" Trollinger said.

The current state budget for schools is some $2 billion less than the previous year. But that doesn't mean, he explained to the board, that there were $2 billion in cuts. In fact, the current budget includes additional tax revenues of nearly $1 billion and federal "stimulus" money well in excess of $1 billion. In other words, he said, the state has cut around $4 billion from the education budget.

Even in the event of a robust recovery, he summarized, it would be difficult to imagine the state education budget recovering to the extent that $4 billion could be restored.

The point is not academic, the stimulus money is a two-year proposition, not set to recur.

That means that the local budget two years from now could be in much worse shape than this year's.

The bottom line is this: The local budget for the new school year is $35.8 million, down some $2.2 million from school year 2008-09. Nearly $700,000 has been cut from teacher payroll. Central Office budget has seen a $67,000 cut; Non-instructional support (that's custodians, clerical staff, substitute teachers and such) has been cut by nearly $1.8 million.
There are dozens of other items slashed, and stimulus money here and there offsetting some of the worst cuts.

Some programs, like literacy coaches (full-time, on-staff workers at both junior high schools) have been cut altogether. The budget for textbooks has been cut by more than $181,000.

And the school system must give back nearly $1 million to the state.

Still, in the changing picture of the schools' budget, the lights are still on and no more staff cuts have been mandated.

The school year began with virtually no material budget. Schools have reported rationing paper and other essentials, but Trollinger reported he would be able to give principals some money, $388,000, for materials this week.

Rules have been relaxed at the state level in light of the situation, reported Budget Director Suzanne Rampey, allowing for shuffling money form other items to keeping jobs funded. She reported being able to fund 18 jobs in this way.

Bookkeeping maneuvers like that combine with such practical measures as consolidating contracts to maintain and service copier machines – saving $50,000, she reported – to keep teachers working, utilities on and busses running – for now.

The federal stimulus money was almost entirely taken up by the state cutting the non-instructional support budget to the bone, Trollinger said.

"They knew if they took that we'd have to put all the federal stabilization money toward that," he said. "I can't run a school system without those people."

Last week the governor's office announced it would restore withheld lottery proceeds to the schools. Earmarked for construction, the money is allotted based on both population and property tax rates. McDowell's share will amount to a little more than $145,000.