Bill Fletcher: Superintendent Budget Request, School Funding and More
Wake County, NC – Thoughts for April 2019 from Bill Fletcher, Member of the Wake County Board of Education.
How North Carolina Funds Schools
The State Constitution expects the legislature to fund all school operations and the county to fund facilities.
School boards do not have taxing authority and thus are dependent on state and county funding decisions to run an effective and challenging academic program.
Where The Money Goes
Highlights from the Superintendent’s budget request
- Opening Four New Schools requires $8.2 million in local operating costs. Costs include utilities, building maintenance, technology, security, transportation, staff not paid for by the state, etc.
- Legislative Impact requires $19.6 million in local funds for class-size phase in, more middle school teachers, transfers to charter schools, employer matching benefit rate increases, matching salary increases for certified, non-certified and school-based administrators.
- Deferred Operational Needs require $8.0 million for school-based techs to support reliability in instructional technology systems and devices, compensation adjustment for skilled tradesmen, first step to phase in increases for non-certified staff – bus drivers, teaching assistants, clerical, etc.
- Special Education Services increase by $2.7 million. Students with more complex and complicated health and learning challenges are enrolling and require more individualized services. Revamping special education transportation to improve student safety and parent satisfaction.
- School support for Students’ Social and Emotional Learning – $915,655 in local funding as first step in multi- year phase-in of $30 million need.
Read the budget for yourself at www.wcpss.net/budget
Factoid #47
Legislature requires counties to supplement school operation budgets.
We won’t know just how much local property taxes will be required to supplement the state’s level of funding for school operations until the legislature adopts the 2019-2021 budget. But for last year, the amount was estimated to be as much as $120,000,000. That amounts to eight cents of the current Wake County property tax rate.
Parent chats (except on holidays)
1st Thursday – 1 PM
Cary Chamber, 315 N Academy St., Cary
3rd Monday – 11 AM
Caribou Coffee shop, 109 SW Maynard Rd., Cary
Bill Fletcher school info: BFletcher@wcpss.net || Voice Mail: 919-694-8843 || Mobile: 919-880-5301
Story by Bill Fletcher, Member Wake County Board of Education. Chart courtesy of Bill Fletcher. Photos by alamosbasement.
