School district bracing for budget cuts from state

The Cherokee County School District is bracing for possible budget cuts in the range of as much as $2.3 million from the state.

State lawmakers plan to hold a special session to deal with budget issues in the wake of a national economic downturn. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet Friday.

The exact amount of any school budget cuts won't be known until late October or early November.

Cherokee County School Superintendent Dr. Bill James said the district is preparing for the worst-case scenario, which would likely be a 6 percent budget cut this fall. That would amount to a $2.3 million loss.

The difficult financial situation occurs as Cherokee County deals with an unemployment rate approaching 10 percent.

James said the district cannot count on collecting all tax revenues in a timely manner in late January.

"We were fortunate that we outperformed our budget last year. We have $1.7 million in our fund balance that we planned on putting back into our reserves," James said. "We will use this to offset the budget cuts. This would still leave us $600,000 in the red."

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex announced Wednesday he will ask state lawmakers to free local school districts from state rules and mandates that might hurt their efforts to absorb more than $240 million in budget cuts. For example, eliminating the state's minimum 180-day school year requirement might allow districts to operate on four-day weeks.

About 90 percent of the school budget goes towards salaries and benefits. The average teacher salary has risen from $39,046 in 2001 to $47,010 in 2008 through staterequired increases to keep pace with the Southeastern average.

The Cherokee County School District plans to freeze hiring and carefully review all purchase orders submitted by schools for the remainder of the school year. The district followed these same procedures in 2001 when it last faced mid-year budget cuts.

"We will only spend money on things that directly impact the instructional program," James said. "What we are not going to do is lay off people."