Agenda - 12-09-2003-9a - Laserfiche WebLink

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Education Funding FY 2003 -04 Current Expense $44,684,324 Recurring Capital $1,777,284 Long Range Capital $1,834,981 Debt Service $14,304,364 School Health Nursing Initiative $292,206 Total Funding for Education $62,893,159 Total Budget 1$128,972,5221 $128,972,522 Total Funding for Education as a % of General Fund Budget Despite the predominance of education funding in the County's annual budget process, the North Carolina General Statutes provide that boards of county commissioners have limited authority to specify the details on how these appropriations are actually expended by school systems. Per NCGS §115C -429, "ft]he commissioners shall determine the amount of county revenues to he appropriated in the county budget ordinance to the local school administrative unit for the budget year. The board of county commissioners may, in its discretion, allocate part or all of its appropriation by purpose, function, or project as defined in the uniform budget format" The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the Local Government Commission, is responsible for preparing and promulgating the uniform budget format for use by all local school administrative units in the State. (An example of the uniform budget format in use by local school administrative units is included in Attachment X which attachment is the Orange County Schools 2003 -2004 fiscal year Budget Resolution, The Budget Director is trying to obtain additional information regarding the experience of other counties that make school current expense appropriations by purpose and function. This information may be available by meeting time.) The limitation to "purpose, function, or project" level appropriations, therefore, effectively precludes a board of commissioners from dictating specific uses of current expense money — for example, whether to hire foreign language teachers, whether to fund a particular extracurricular activity, or whether to pay teacher salary supplements. On the other hand, the Board of Commissioners has not exercised its authority to appropriate current expense money to the school systems by purpose or function. This has historically not been done in Orange County out of respect for the fact that the Boards of Education are elected bodies with responsibility for the operation of the public schools. If a board of commissioners elects to allocate current expense appropriations to its school system by purpose or function, the county budget ordinance would contain those allocations and, "the school budget resolution [must] conform to that allocation." N.C.G.S. § 115C- 432(b). If the board of education proposes to