Agenda - 06-04-2015 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment C H 0 0 L S Date: May 21, 2015 To : Tom Forcella, Superintendent From: Todd LoFrese, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Re: Budget Update On April 28, 20155 the Board's 2015-16 budget request was presented to the Board of orange County Commissioners. The Board requested an additional $3,539,191 (or $302 per pupil) in revenue to fund state mandates, maintain current services, and support priorities in our strategic plan. This week both the North Carolina house of Representatives' state budget proposal and the County Manager's recommended budget were presented. A review of both recommendations was conducted and items of significance and the associated local impact are briefly discussed below. 17 The proposed state budget includes a salary increase for all public school employees. Newer teachers (0 to 4 years of experience) would receive about a 6% increase and all other employees would receive a 2% increase. If enacted, it will require an additional $1.2 million in local dollars to implement this state mandate. This amount is precisely what our local request included. The proposed state budget also establishes required employer matching contributions for state retirement and we anticipate increases in health insurance rates. As proposed, approximately $21 0,000 of additional local dollars will be required. The state budget does restore funding for driver education, and if adopted, would not require additional local dollars to support driver training next year. After nearly 7 years of minimal funding, additional textbook and digital resource funding is part of the state budget (about 50% of 2008 levels). The state budget also maintains teacher assistant funding at 2014 -15 levels, but this would result in a small reduction to our district due to enrollment increases across the state. Transportation funding is also reduced, mostly attributed to lower diesel fuel costs. This week, the County Manager's recommended budget was presented to the County Commissioners, The County Manager's recommended budget included an additional $630,722 ($81 per pupil) for our school district. This however, is approximately $2.9 million less than our request.