BOE
then
Personnel Sub-Committee
Let's HEAR it!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
How much lunch money will your kid need next year?
ASHEVILLE - School cafeterias statewide are struggling to cover the costs of lunch programs amid dramatic price increases for gas, food and labor.
Burke County Public Schools Superintendent David Burleson said county schools will try to keep prices for school lunches as low as possible.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Finance Meeting
How is the budget and what is their goal?
School board will try to cut budget again
By STEVE WELKER
swelker@morganton.com
Thursday, May 8, 2008
MORGANTON - Squeezed between rising costs and falling enrollment, the Burke County Schools Board of Education will wrestle with its proposed 2008-09 budget during a special Finance Committee meeting at noon today in the central office.
The school board, by law, must present next year's budget to the Burke County Board of Commissioners on or by May 15, just six days from now.
Urged to adopt the budget at Monday's regular meeting, the board balked.
"I'm not going to support this budget," declared Board Chairman Tim Buff. "Enrollment has dropped every year that I've been here. Every year we've added employees....
"We're dipping into the fund balance again. We just cannot continue this.
"We've got a responsibility to the people of Burke County. Let's roll up our sleeves. Let's get down to this" even if it takes more meetings.
Board member Tracy Norman also questioned drawing down the "fund balance" ? the schools' version of a citizen's savings account ? to cover expenses.
The proposed budget's introductory paragraphs supports their concerns: "It is important to note that using fund balances is treacherous, because we are using non-recurring revenue to fund recurring expenses."
Norman said repeatedly tapping the fund balance to make up for shortfalls in revenue is "kind of like putting a BandAid on a dam."
And she seemed neither satisfied or reassured when school officials said it's not unusual to tap the fund balance when other revenue sources don't meet the district's needs.
Associate Superintendent Randall Brackett explained, "I would say to you the problem we have is the large fund balance we've committed to opening two high schools. We created a large amount of fund balance" in anticipation of opening Patton High School last year and Draughn High School this summer. "We had $3.8 million. We need to keep $1.2 to $1.5 million. We're drawing down $750,000.
"This is a pretty good budget, despite cutting into the fund balance."
The "Local Current Expense Budget" ? so-called because it doesn't include state funds for certified personnel (pri-marily teachers) ? totals $16.45 million. That's about $350,000 (2.1 percent) lower than the 2007-08 budget.
"It has been a particularly difficult budget to balance," admitted Finance Director Keith Lawson.
He said school administrators started work on the budget in February. The Finance Committee had at least four full meetings leading up to this week's presentation, as well as many smaller or informal sessions. Superintendent David Burleson said dozens of people, including department heads, principals, teachers and outside advisers, contributed their input.
One problem in the budget-making process, Lawson noted, is the state legislature has yet to approve its education budget. The school system won't know until later this year how much it will need for non-certified personnel, whose salary increases tend to track along with those the state gives to teachers.
Another unknown is the cost for energy: transportation, heating and cooling.
Utility expenses in the proposed budget jump $300,000 (8.4 percent) to $3.86 million.
"My biggest concern has to be the loss of some positions," said board member Sam Wilkinson who, with Norman and Rob Hairfield, sits on the Finance Committee. "We're going to be roughly 27 positions lower."
The reduction in salaries, supplements and benefits amounts to $858,000 (8.7 percent) from 2007-08 to 2008-09.
Superintendent Burleson hastened to assure people that there will be no layoffs. Instead, the staff size will be re-duced through retirements and by not replacing people who leave voluntarily.
"What we have concentrated on is not affecting the classroom situation," he added. "There will be a little change in class size in the lower grades (through third grade)," but the district will still meet state requirements for allowable class size.
Like Buff, Burleson noted the district is losing students.
At the same time, of course, the district is opening another high school. In 2000, when planning for the new schools began, Freedom High was bursting at the seams, carrying a pupil load of roughly 1.5 times what it was designed to hold. Based on the district's experience opening Patton High School in 2007, the proposed budget for 2008-09 anticipates spending an additional $762,000 for Draughn High School.
"With the exception of the expenditures for Draughn, the proposed budget is a continuation budget with no expan-sion. It'd be nice to have an expansion budget," Burleson said, but he doesn't expect to see one any time soon.
School board will try to cut budget again
By STEVE WELKER
swelker@morganton.com
Thursday, May 8, 2008
MORGANTON - Squeezed between rising costs and falling enrollment, the Burke County Schools Board of Education will wrestle with its proposed 2008-09 budget during a special Finance Committee meeting at noon today in the central office.
The school board, by law, must present next year's budget to the Burke County Board of Commissioners on or by May 15, just six days from now.
Urged to adopt the budget at Monday's regular meeting, the board balked.
"I'm not going to support this budget," declared Board Chairman Tim Buff. "Enrollment has dropped every year that I've been here. Every year we've added employees....
"We're dipping into the fund balance again. We just cannot continue this.
"We've got a responsibility to the people of Burke County. Let's roll up our sleeves. Let's get down to this" even if it takes more meetings.
Board member Tracy Norman also questioned drawing down the "fund balance" ? the schools' version of a citizen's savings account ? to cover expenses.
The proposed budget's introductory paragraphs supports their concerns: "It is important to note that using fund balances is treacherous, because we are using non-recurring revenue to fund recurring expenses."
Norman said repeatedly tapping the fund balance to make up for shortfalls in revenue is "kind of like putting a BandAid on a dam."
And she seemed neither satisfied or reassured when school officials said it's not unusual to tap the fund balance when other revenue sources don't meet the district's needs.
Associate Superintendent Randall Brackett explained, "I would say to you the problem we have is the large fund balance we've committed to opening two high schools. We created a large amount of fund balance" in anticipation of opening Patton High School last year and Draughn High School this summer. "We had $3.8 million. We need to keep $1.2 to $1.5 million. We're drawing down $750,000.
"This is a pretty good budget, despite cutting into the fund balance."
The "Local Current Expense Budget" ? so-called because it doesn't include state funds for certified personnel (pri-marily teachers) ? totals $16.45 million. That's about $350,000 (2.1 percent) lower than the 2007-08 budget.
"It has been a particularly difficult budget to balance," admitted Finance Director Keith Lawson.
He said school administrators started work on the budget in February. The Finance Committee had at least four full meetings leading up to this week's presentation, as well as many smaller or informal sessions. Superintendent David Burleson said dozens of people, including department heads, principals, teachers and outside advisers, contributed their input.
One problem in the budget-making process, Lawson noted, is the state legislature has yet to approve its education budget. The school system won't know until later this year how much it will need for non-certified personnel, whose salary increases tend to track along with those the state gives to teachers.
Another unknown is the cost for energy: transportation, heating and cooling.
Utility expenses in the proposed budget jump $300,000 (8.4 percent) to $3.86 million.
"My biggest concern has to be the loss of some positions," said board member Sam Wilkinson who, with Norman and Rob Hairfield, sits on the Finance Committee. "We're going to be roughly 27 positions lower."
The reduction in salaries, supplements and benefits amounts to $858,000 (8.7 percent) from 2007-08 to 2008-09.
Superintendent Burleson hastened to assure people that there will be no layoffs. Instead, the staff size will be re-duced through retirements and by not replacing people who leave voluntarily.
"What we have concentrated on is not affecting the classroom situation," he added. "There will be a little change in class size in the lower grades (through third grade)," but the district will still meet state requirements for allowable class size.
Like Buff, Burleson noted the district is losing students.
At the same time, of course, the district is opening another high school. In 2000, when planning for the new schools began, Freedom High was bursting at the seams, carrying a pupil load of roughly 1.5 times what it was designed to hold. Based on the district's experience opening Patton High School in 2007, the proposed budget for 2008-09 anticipates spending an additional $762,000 for Draughn High School.
"With the exception of the expenditures for Draughn, the proposed budget is a continuation budget with no expan-sion. It'd be nice to have an expansion budget," Burleson said, but he doesn't expect to see one any time soon.
Monday, May 5, 2008
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