Minutes - 20070605 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Children's Staffin TOTAL $3,928,639 Superintendent Pedersen said that the last strategy of reducing the budget would be adjustments in salary. The committee was divided on the issue, but the majority of the committee believed that salaries should be "on the table" under these dire circumstances. The possibility that was considered was to freeze next year's local supplements at the current levels. If applied to all administrators, teachers, and classified staff, this would generate approximately $416,500 in savings. Regarding the fund balance, this year CHCCS has already appropriated $1 million of fund balance toward the construction of Elementary School #10 and the one- time start-up costs for Carrboro High School. An additional one million dollars of fund balance would be appropriated in the Board of Education's Requested Budget far ongoing expenses. The fund balance is projected at 6.88°lo and the target is 5.5°l0. The County Commissioners asked if one-time costs could be identified to be paid for from fund balance, and he could only find $100,000 worth of one-time costs. Regarding the contingency fund, the committee proposed reducing it from $150,000 to $50,000. In recent years, the school system has not had to draw down the contingency for significant unforeseen expenditures. It has been reduced to balance the budget when discretionary reversions had to be made to the State. Page nine shows the actual per-pupil casts since 2002. There has not been much of an increase in the budget since 2003. Superintendent Pedersen reminded the County Commissioners that CHCCS reduced $732,172 from its budget last year by cutting programs, services, and positions from the continuation budget. This reduction more than covered the casts associated with the high school schedule change to aseven-period day. He said that it is not his place to resolve this budget problem but it is a mutual challenge. He said that he suggests two options for funding the budget request: • Using the special district tax by 2.85 cents for the costs associated with opening new schools. The BOCC has provided this funding for the last five schools that have been opened. • Increase ad valorem tax by an additional 2.3 cents over the recommended 3.7 cents =total of 6 cents If the Commissioners raised the district tax rate by 2.85 cents and raised the ad valorem tax rate by an additional 2.3 cents (total of 6 cents), the school district could maintain its current level of services, meet projected salary obligations, open Carrboro High School, and keep Elementary School #10 an schedule. Alternatively, if the Board of County Commissioners did not want to use the district tax, it would require an increase of 5.3 cents an the ad valorem tax, or a total increase of 9 cents. Steve Scroggs spoke about the two capital areas, recurring and CIP. The recurring capital is for replacement of equipment as well as renovations to classrooms and ADA compliance. There are also increasing costs in recurring capital on new playground regulations. The school system spends $100,000 a year on mulch to make sure the playground requirements are met. In the Capital Improvement Plan, this is the last year of dedicating the majority of the CIP to construction of Carrboro High School. He said that if they take out the rental space and technology costs, this only leaves them with $370,000 worth of flexible money within the CIP. They intend to use this for ADA compliance, abatement projects, fire safety and security issues, and updating technology. He said that the capital dollars spent for a school district that has over