Today is the day that Vance County Schools must return $1,145,863 of its 2009-2010 budget to Raleigh in what is termed a “discretionary reduction”.
The funding recall may help to shore up the state’s finances, but left the schools with a budget reduction of over $4,000,000 from fiscal 2008-2009 to deal with.
That shortfall was created despite nearly $2 million in federal stabilization money.
Virtually every category of state money was cut; for example, the textbook allotment was trimmed from $513,534 in 2008-2009 to $303,825 for the current fiscal year. Staff development funds were eliminated completely, along with funds to improve student accountability.
Leandro funds remained unchanged. Leandro funds were alloted to Vance and other low-wealth counties by the state after a judicial decision found that the state was not giving those counties enough money to provide students residing there with a quality education. Since schools in North Carolina are funded with a combination of state funds and local funds, localities with broader tax bases can devote more resources to their school systems.
Last year, the school system had 690.2 positions in its schools ranging from principals to teachers, social workers, nurses, and literacy coaches. This year will see that number reduced by over 21 positions.
State classroom teachers (that is, teaching positions funded solely by state money) were hit hard, with a loss of slightly over eleven positions. There were very modest gains for Exceptional Children teachers, Title 1 classroom teachers, and support personnel.
Only $138,682 has been alloted for substitute teachers. The county normally spends between $500,000 to $600,000 on subs. Since staff development opportunities have been greatly reduced by budget cuts, it is anticipated that there will be less need for substitutes in the classroom.
The shortfall in transportation funds still needs to be covered. That allotment from the state is short by $298,602. Using textbook money to bridge the gap has been discussed, but no decision was reached. This would delay upcoming book adoptions by two years.