School Board Weighs Options as Budget Outlook Worsens
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The Moore County Board of Education is considering its options as it prepares to hear new budget recommendations that will warn of even deeper funding cuts.
The school system is now anticipating more than $11 million in budget cuts from the state, according to preliminary information released about the N.C. General Assembly's version of the state budget.
Superintendent Susan Purser plans to present any revisions and new recommendations reflecting the changes to the Board of Education at 7 p.m. Monday at Union Pines High School.
She has also invited parents from Academy Heights Elementary School to attend an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at West Pine Elementary School, where she will share her additional budget recommendations, specifically those that will affect whether or not the school will remain open.
Purser's current budget proposal recommends that the year-round elementary school be closed and that the county's year-round program be consolidated in Southern Pines.
She said she was holding the meeting to honor parents' requests to have an additional meeting and to maintain an open line of communication before the board's scheduled vote Monday.
"That was one area where they asked for some improvements, so I'm trying to respect and honor that," she said.
Purser plans to make the additional budget recommendations public Friday.
Since hearing from several Academy Heights parents at a public hearing on the issue March 21, Purser and her staff have been investigating the feasibility of other suggested alternatives and preparing to present their findings along with any new recommendations to the board.
Parents' main request was to keep the option of year-round school in the Pinehurst attendance area, either by keeping Academy Heights open or by relocating the program to the other two elementary schools in the district if the school has to be closed.
"All of these are options that we have to weigh off," Purser said. "We've got to do it in the context of not just the children of Academy Heights. I've got to look at this in the total context of all 12,500 students."
Purser added that she does not intend to take the option to close the Academy Heights facility off the table at this point because funding cuts are so much more severe at this point.
"I know that we can serve students outside of that facility, and the fact that it can save us hundreds of thousands of dollars in a budget that is severely impacted by the budget reduction," she said. "I've got to look at that as a cost savings."
'Workable Solution'
As the board prepares for its vote, members are trying to keep an open mind about the options available.
Some have also expressed hopes that Purser and her staff will be able to find another option that is viable for the entire school system.
"[Parents have] given the board a lot to think about," board member Bruce Cunningham said. "We are in extraordinary times right now, and the budget challenges we face are something that we've never had experience with. So I hope a resolution can be reached that's satisfactory to everyone."
Board Chairwoman Laura Lang said she is optimistic that another alternative could work, but she is also very concerned about how the system will absorb the additional funding cuts.
"I think given all the information and the ideas that have come up, I really think that there's going to be a workable solution," she said. "Will everyone be happy? No, but nobody in the entire district is going to be happy when we're looking at $5.2 million in cuts. There's going to be a lot of changes occurring this year."
Lang's caution comes after she learned that the system may have to cut an additional $3.3 million from its budget, on top of the $8.2 million in cuts originally proposed by Purser in her recommendation to the board.
She and Purser attended a conference in Raleigh two weeks ago, where they learned that the N.C. General Assembly's budget would likely propose cuts between 8 and 12 percent.
Purser's proposed budget reflects a best-case scenario of 5 percent cuts that would reduce the budget by $8.2 million.
In the proposal, the system would see $5.2 million in real cuts, while the system would use $3 million from its general fund balance to cover the difference.
The recommendation to close Academy Heights would save the system $500,000 a year.
The budget also proposes that the system cut 90 positions and cut back school programs, such as middle school athletics and orchestra, and reduce "pullout" programs, such as AIG.
The system's local funding request of $27.5 million from the Moore County Board of Commissioners remains the same as last year.
'Best Alternative'
Board member Kathy Farren said she is still trying to collect information and consider all of the options available before making a decision Monday.
"I feel that I need to stay open," she said. "I need to listen to everything, but again, I have to look at the Moore County system as a whole and what is going to be the best alternative for Moore County as a whole."
She added that at this point, the board is still in the process of learning if any of the other options could be a feasible alternative to Purser's current recommendation to retire the facility.
"Right now, [everything is] in a logistics study where [Purser] and her staff are looking to see if it's logistically possible, but nothing has been decided," Farren said.
Lang said that she and her fellow board members have to weigh their options and consider the potential impacts of additional cuts to the system along with Purser's current recommendations.
"It's a cost-benefit analysis," she said. "It shouldn't come down to numbers, but unfortunately, it does have to come to that because otherwise, we're not being fiscally responsible with taxpayers' money."
She added that though money is a significant factor in the decision process, it is not the only factor.
"It very well may well turn out that we're willing to pick up that additional cost [to keep the year-round program in Pinehurst], because choice is important," she said.
Contact Hannah Sharpe at hannah@thepilot.com.
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Comments
Bflat 2 years, 1 month ago
If the county commissiones can build a huge Federal Sized JAIL and public safety building to tune of $55 million with about $10 million of that for public utiltities..........well, surely they have planned for education knowing this shortfall was coming. They were advised of it. Now is the time for parents to let Purser as well as the County Commissioners know that they are all held accountable! Do not back down. Let the commissioners know that putting the comfort of prisoners ahead of education is is wrong and unprofessional. If they can create such debt by using limited obligation bonds, then surely they can find the money to properly fund education which should take priority over criminals. The only way economic stability in the county can be reached is through proper education which leads to jobs and to a stable housing market. Families will want to move where there are good schools. As it is the #1 school in the state in Taylortown is on the chopping block to be closed and this makes absolutely no sense. As usual, education has not been properly planned for in the budget. As said, the commissioners knew this budget shortfall was coming as did Purser. It's time for the parents to get really tough. All those Moore County telecom taxes on the cell phones every month as well as tax on the cable bills have created a value added tax. All income flowing into the county is not coming from property tax as there are other sources of income from fees (tax in disquise), sales tax and other things. It should not require a property tax increase.
school_teacher 2 years, 1 month ago
If you are as outraged at the state funding reductions as I am please take your fight to the state level. I really don't know how they can expect districts to survive. I would like to know where the state is cutting other money to help with the budget short fall. It seems that year after year Counties are asked to do more with less, but I don't hear too much about cuts in other areas of state government. NC made progress a decade ago with salaries and per pupil spending but now the state ranks at the bottom! So much for recruiting and retaining quality teachers, so much for investing on our future. I hope that politicians remember these cuts a decade from now when they want to know why test scores are low and drop out rates are high. As always we will do more with less, but at some point it's just a little too much.
native 2 years, 1 month ago
Where do you all think that the state and federal funds are coming from?????Russia????
It all comes back to our own pocketbook...
.I agree that the Jail construction should halt immediately..or make it a school and put the jailmates in a tent....
We all have to conserve at every level........
teufelhunden 2 years, 1 month ago
It's like a slap in the face. Where are their priorities??? Students or inmates? Such a shame.
teufelhunden 2 years, 1 month ago
Sorry...CRIMINALS.
zoeliath 2 years, 1 month ago
Unfortunately, we will need to continue to spend money on jails as we choose to spend less money on our children. It is a vicious cycle, those who are uneducated are often those in our jails. We need to continue to plead for dollars to be spent proactively and to invest in our children NOW.
Maggie_Bonecutter 2 years, 1 month ago
Very well said.
school_teacher 2 years, 1 month ago
Do you know how they determine the amount of cells to build in new jails? This is sad but a reality, they use local 3rd grade reading scores. Research shows that children who are below grade level at the end of 3rd grade tend to not catch up. They are below grade level entering high school and are more likely to dropout of school. 90% of prison inmates are highschool dropouts, so when doing research on any new jail they take into consideration 3rd grade reading scores as one of the determining factors when judging how many cells they will have. Pretty sad but definitely true.
citizen 2 years, 1 month ago
Bocefus, I'm pretty sure free & red lunch is a federal program.But I'm sure you're right that there is a lot of wasted money and fraud involved. This whole budget shortfall is one big mess, and I agree with BFlat and others who say that something needs to be done by our so-called "LEADERS" at the county and state levels. If they cannot see the shame in the woeful way public education is funded, they don't deserve to be making decisions that affect all of us.
If we remain apathetic, nothing will change. Call or write your commissioners and your state reps & senators. Let them know that you support education and support finding it ways of improving its funding. Remind them that we elected them to LEAD.
<p>lcaddell@southernsoftware.com npicerno@embarqmail.com rckennedy@rtmc.net timlea51@gmail.com jdmmelton@yahoo.com Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net Harris.Blake@ncleg.netschool_teacher 2 years, 1 month ago
Free and reduced lunch is a federal program, eliminating would not save the state one cent. The federal government actually has very strict restrictions with documented paperwork to qualify for this program. Eliminating such a program would affect hundreds of thousands of children nationwide. If not for this program many of these children would eat a bag of chips as their only meal. Where I teach the only meal these children get is at school. How do you expect a child to perform well if they are starving?
Easygoing 2 years, 1 month ago
Here is a novel thought. If you want quality education for our country we need to pay for it. That means we should all (including the top 1% in income) be willing to pay more in tax dollars for the common good.