Georgetown cuts schools budget

GEORGETOWN -- Faced with more budget cuts from the state, the Georgetown County School Board voted Tuesday to slash $1.2 million from its budget.

The cuts included eliminating the Gifted and Talented Summer Program, additional furlough time for all district employees, and cutting afternoon extended day remediation programs.

"They are painful," said Board Chairman Jim Dumm of the cuts.

Teachers will have an additional half day of furlough, totaling 1.5 days without pay for the year, and other district employees with get another furlough day, totaling three unpaid days for the year.

So far this year the district has had two rounds of funding cuts from the state totaling $2.7 million. The district also started the year with a $500,000 deficit, meaning the district has to make up a $3.2 million loss.

In addition to the budget cuts the district will also take another $2 million from its fund balance to make up the shortage and balance the budget, said Superintendent Randy Dozier. This will leave about $6 million in the fund balance.

"That $6 million, I know it sounds like a lot, but in reality $10 [million] to $11.5 million is what's recommended," Dozier said.

The district has to have money to cover contingencies and the delay between the time the state makes payments to districts for day-to-day operations. S.C. General Assembly passed Act 388 several years ago swapping property tax for sales tax for day-to-day operation revenue for schools. Now, districts must wait for the state to send the sales tax funds back to the districts.

For example, the money the district needed for July was actually received in October.

If the district has to borrow and take out a Tax Anticipation Notice, the district winds up having to pay interest on the borrowed funds.

During the board's discussion of the cuts, School Board member Teresa Bennani was concerned about volunteer efforts to keep remediation programs going.

Director of Professional Development Patti Hammel said some schools were using Title I funds, which are federal dollars for schools with large low-income populations to offer additional services to offer remediation services during the school day. Retired teachers are also volunteering and students are being pulled from their classes during the day for extra tutoring.

"This is going to have a negative impact," Dozier said. "The standards for report cards and AYP haven't changed. In fact they've increased. I think again it's doing more with less."

Even with the continuing challenges Dozier said he is not considering increasing class sizes although it could save the district about $1.1 million by adding one student per class.

"How could you meet those achievement levels if you increase those class sizes?" he said.

The district is also anticipating another cut from the state this year, which means the district is continuing to seek other areas to trim costs.

School board member Teresa Bennani said the district had to make some hard decisions, including whether to continue the rigorous International Baccalaureate program at Waccamaw High School.

The IB program offers college credit for students who complete coursework that includes community service, a portfolio and testing that is internationally recognized.

"Having an IB program in the district is quite an accolade," she said. "However, as a parent with a child at Waccamaw High School, I know the Advanced Placement offerings are suffering due to IB. Until we can adequately fund it at the middle and elementary levels, we are doing a disservice to high schools."

The S.C. Department of Education is also considering several cost-saving measures that could affect school districts like shortening the school year, reducing the course load and eliminating end-of-course tests.

Taking five days off the end of the school year could save $105 million in salaries and transportation.

The state would save $2 million by suspending end-of-year tests not required under federal law for the 2010-11 school year, while eliminating them entirely would save $2.9 million, according to the department.

Another cost-saving option that could affect teachers is preventing teachers who earn national board certification from renewing for another 10 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.