The Fayette County Board of Education unanimously approved the budget for fiscal year 2011 Tuesday night.
This year's state and local revenues will be about $12 million less than last year, totaling about $174 million, while expenditures will be close to $179 million. The difference will come from the fund balance, which was built up to nearly $18 million over the past year, thanks in large part to employee pay cuts and furlough days.
Unlike many other Georgia school systems, Fayette will maintain staff benefits, offer a full 180-day school year and promises no employee furloughs. Also, the board voted last month to restore the equivalent of up to three furlough days of pay to all employees who took them last year.
While the tax rate for the general fund will remain at 20 mills--the maximum allowable by Georgia law, Fayette property owners will get some relief. The tax for bonded indebtedness will drop by 1.7 mills, which means a $200 savings on the average home. This drop is made possible through the ESPLOST that voters passed in November 2008.
This year's budget calls for more than 51 percent of the funding to come from local taxes. Comptroller Laura Brock pointed out that just a few years ago, the state kicked in about 60 percent of the funding.
Next year's budget situation will be challenging, Brock warned, because a lot of federal funding will expire, leaving the local system to pick up the tab for 18 teachers and 17 parapros currently paid for with federal money, Brock said.
School Superintendent John DeCotis said school funding is affected by a number of "wild cards." The winner of this year's governor's race will have a huge impact on state revenue to schools. DeCotis also mentioned that Congress is not extending stimulus payments that pay for Medicaid. "Georgia will see about a $400 million cut," DeCotis pointed out, "and this money must be absorbed in the state budget." Local tax collections, he noted, are a wild card, too.
DeCotis, at his last meeting before his retirement, commended school employees, students and parents for the sacrifices they made this past year. "Due to their efforts, our budget for 2011 is in good shape heading into the new school year. Our staff did an outstanding job in cutting expense and saving money where possible. It is because of strategic planning and the efforts and sacrifices of our school community that we have a sound budget for next year," he said.
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