Moore County Superintendent Aaron Spence is not recommending significant cuts for the Moore County school system in his proposed budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

On Monday, Spence proposed that the Moore County Board of Education use money set aside in the system's general fund balance to cover an additional $900,000 discretionary funding cut mandated by the state.

Last year, the school system had to reduce its budget by $3.4 million to accommodate state funding shortfalls. This year, the system is expected to reduce its budget by $4.3 million.

Spence said that the system will address $3.4 million of the $4.3 million reduction by continuing to implement the existing cost-saving measures in this year's budget, while using general funds to offset the additional reduction.

He added that the school system is in a secure financial position for the 2012-2013 budget because of "the proactive stance" taken by the Board of Education last year when it voted to make significant cuts in order to reduce costs.

He did not recommend that the system cut any positions.

In his presentation, Spence reported that the school system expects to receive $62.3 million from the state, $6 million in federal funding and $25.5 million in local funding for a total budget of $95.8 million.

The recommendation does not ask for an increased local funding allocation from the Moore County Board of Commissioners.

Spence said that he may consider recommending that the board change policies enacted as cost-saving measures this year, such as the adjusted school start times, but he said he would not recommend a policy change that would have a negative impact on the budget by incurring additional costs.

He also emphasized that by working within the budget's current parameters, he intends to pursue new initiatives in the coming year that will directly seek to close the student achievement gap and to improve K-12 literacy.

For more on Spence's budget recommendation, see Wednesday's edition of The Pilot.