In closing out the fiscal year on June 30, the Macon County Board of Education discussed its next hurdle: a $2.4 million local funding shortfall for the new year.
The shortfall comes after the Macon County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a budget with $11,814,471 total for the school system’s operations. The system requested $14,330,860.69 to maintain school programming without terminating positions.
Superintendent Josh Lynch said at a previous budget workshop with the county the system would need to take a hard look at its budget and cut programs and funding if it did not get the full $14 million requested.
At the June 30 board meeting, chief finance officer Alayna Ledford spoke about the shortfall and how the board could account for the gap. She listed a series of programs or expenses they could cut to free up money, including supplies, curricular subscriptions and contracts, not expanding the Macon Early College athletics program, not supplying busses for community events and organizations, reducing summer time sheets for principals and data managers, reducing principal and data manager travel compensation, eliminating substitute teachers for teacher assistants in regular education classrooms and restructuring the virtual academy.
To save money, the system may need to stop hiring custodial staff and instead clean the schools through contracts to save money on insurance and retirement contributions.
The board is also considering eliminating several positions through attrition or by canceling new positions before they start. That includes several teaching assistants and the Highlands Pre-K teacher and teaching assistant that was scheduled to start in August. Commissioner Barry Breeden said at a budget work session the school system's priorities "are a little off" by including Pre-K for Highlands School, and Commissioner John Shearl said Pre-K shouldn’t receive public funding because it is not required by the state. He said his son paid "$1,200 a month for his child to go to daycare service. There was no help for him."
Board member Melissa Evans asked how the system would be able to operate the new Franklin High School and the new expenses that will come along with it if they were looking at cutting positions. Lynch said he didn’t know.
“Those will be discussions that we continue, moving now to the beginning of the year, and unfortunately we are in a position where we have to look at making up that shortfall,” Lynch said. “So outside of sending individuals home and personnel, looking at programs, supplies and materials, things of that nature, it will have an impact on the classroom teacher and specifically the classroom and our students. It’ll have a drastic impact. These are areas that we’re going to have to consider so that we can begin to close that gap.”
“We will also have to appropriate more fund balance moving forward as well. Our fund balance is not in a place where we really are comfortable dipping into it,” he continued. “But in order for us to close this $2.4 million shortfall, this is the only option that we have. Now in years to come, if things do not improve then through attrition we will have to look at those personnel that we will have to, unfortunately, do away with.”
Ledford noted the state budget would grant 8% raises to teachers on average, but 17% for teachers in their first four years, which are the lowest-paid teachers. Not all raises will be paid for by the state, so the board may have to approach the commissioners again to cover the mandated increase, Lynch said.
“We proposed 8%, that is actually doubled at the local level for those teachers. So that’s significant,” Lynch said.
Board member Stephanie Laseter said, “Counties are … getting hammered on that across the state, because that is going to affect every local government. And so – it’s well-deserved – but what about those tenured positions? They deserve increases. I’m very worried about that state budget for all local governments.”
She noted law enforcement received significant pay increases as well through the budget, which will affect local governments’ budgets.
Commissioner Barry Breeden, who attended the meeting, said he wanted to plug “that quarter of a penny sales tax increase,” saying the county would benefit from the extra income.
Ledford said other districts and other finance officers are having the same conversations, saying the state’s proposed budget is “nailing’ county governments.
“I presented this information along with Laney to our principals, and that was a heavy meeting,” he said. “It is going to impact them on a daily basis. Not that it doesn’t impact us, but they are boots on the ground. They’re living it, they see it. So, to anyone who questions the school system and our fiscal management … I would invite them into any of our schools at any given time to be in our classrooms to see exactly how hard our teachers are working and what we’re able to provide our students. It’s incredible, the impact of a teacher, what they can take and do with so little.”
He said principals and teachers would continue to make the education system work with what they have been given, but it would inevitably impact students and place additional strain on staff.
Board member Hilary Wilkes said, “I just hope this highlights to people who pay attention that every dollar really counts in our budget and we have a very strict legal responsibility of salaries that we have zero control over … so when it comes to getting underfunded, this is the type of thing that has to be on the table and the people who are the losers in this situation are students, which is very sad. And there are very real humans that are involved that have been hired to work in the Pre-K and now can’t, or people who have taken their children and given up their fall spots and now they’re not able to get them. So I hope people out there realize it’s not funny and it’s not fair, and it makes me very angry.”
Boys and Girls Club
The board briefly discussed a proposal from the Highlands Boys and Girls Club to take over the old Bartram Academy building. Bartram (rebranded as the new “The Peak at FHS”) will move into the new Franklin High School when it is complete.
The board considered a memorandum of understanding which would declare the intent of the club and Macon County to move forward with allowing the club to prepare to use the building, provided the nonprofit is able to access grant and community funding they need to cover the cost of operations. Some MCS staff would also be moved over to the club’s payroll for summer programming.
The board ultimately agreed they will need to spend more time examining the MOU before approval, including a clearer statement that the MOU will not bind either party as recommended by attorney John Henning.