By SCOTT POWELLLedger Staff Writer

The Cherokee County School Board will hold a budget workshop May 24 to become more familiar with funding requests in the district’s new budget.

Each principal presented their requests in February. Highlighting the principal lists were additional teachers to reduce class sizes, equipment to meet kindergarten requirements for the state’s early childhood rating system and additional office personnel to manage data required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

School trustees will spend the workshop looking at the budgets presented by district department heads.

Superintendent Dr. Bill James cautioned the district has not reached the stage of developing a final budget for school trustees to review.

“This (workshop) is a teaching session,” James said. “It is designed to help the school board become more familiar with the budget requests from district departments.”

State lawmakers adopted a $5.8 billion budget last week. Gov. Mark Sanford is reviewing the budget and has until midnight Tuesday to use his line item veto.

Lawmakers will then return to discuss the governor’s vetoes and give final approval to the budget before adjourning the legislative session.

The district is waiting on the final approval of the state budget so it will have accurate revenue figures to use in developing a balanced budget, James said. A final budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year will be given to the school board next month. The budget takes effect July 1.

“There will be little new money in the budget,” James said.

Technology will be a major item in the district’s new spending plan.

School trustees voted in March to include $1.176 million in the budget for purchasing new computers for Gaffney High, Blacksburg High, Alma Elementary, B.D. Lee Elementary, Luther Vaughan Elementary, Mary Bramlett Elementary, Blacksburg Elementary and the district’s four middle schools.

The district will lease/purchase the technology equipment over the next two years. Equipment at the remaining schools will be done in a second phase, tentatively scheduled to begin in 2007.

Like all school districts, James said approximately 85 percent of the district’s budget expenses involve salaries and fringe benefits for employees. Districts will also have to fund teacher raises given by the state.

The present state budget would give teachers raises to help their pay stay $300 above the Southeastern average, which is presently $39,860 a year. Teachers would also get $250 to buy school supplies.

The state budget being reviewed by Sanford would boost the base student cost from $1,852 per student to $2,290 per student for the 2005-2006 school year. This would be the first time the state has fully funded the Education Finance Act since 2000.