Published: December 29, 2009 07:31 pm      

Area educators fear more budget cutbacks

Murray County Board of Education member Elizabeth Gould says educators across North Georgia all have one thing on their minds.

“There’s a fear across the board,” Gould said. “I’ve been out in several school systems the last few weeks, and that’s the one question: How many days are we going to be cut?”

Georgia Association of Educators president Jeff Hubbard said teachers are concerned they will be furloughed at least an additional three days when the Georgia General Assembly convenes in January and legislators are faced with balancing a budget amid declining revenue and increasing costs of operation. The head of the teacher advocacy organization said state officials earlier this year cut the equivalent of three days’ pay for all teachers and suggested school systems furlough employees.

“This year’s (state) budget is $18.6 billion,” Hubbard said. “We will be very, very lucky if (the upcoming budget) comes in between $15.5 to $15.7 billion.”

Some 57 percent of the state budget goes toward education, he said, and it is one of the few things the Legislature is mandated to fund under the Georgia constitution. He said his organization plans a rally at the state Capitol on Jan. 23 and will “vigorously oppose” additional furlough days and funding cuts.

For the members of local boards of education, the possibility of losing state funding and facing more employee furlough days is very real. Whitfield school board members voted recently to move two professional learning days for staff from January to the end of the school year. Murray and Dalton school board members took similar measures so they’ll have the ability to furlough teachers on those days if necessary.

“If the number of work days is reduced (by state officials), as they were during the fall semester, we may be able to ... protect the class time that is vital to our students’ education,” said school system spokesman Eric Beavers.

Area school officials said all staff members, from maintenance to instruction, are encouraged to find ways to work more efficiently to save money, whether that means turning off lights for rooms not being used or conserving paper. Dalton school board chairman Steve Williams says it’s too early for local school systems to do much more than spend cautiously.

“Nobody from the state is really saying anything other than the fact that we anticipate something is probably going to happen, but we don’t know what,” Williams said.

All three local school systems held their property tax rates steady this year, and officials said they hope they’ll continue to be able to do so. Murray Board of Education member Tim Dover said he hopes, as a taxpayer, the school system will be able to operate without having to raise the rate from $15.50 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

“We will do all that we can to make the cuts first before having to go to that step, I would think,” said Dover, who has been on the board since October. “There’s been no mention of the (property tax) rate being raised.”

Gould said one family she knows is losing $800 a month in income thanks to state cuts to education that trickled down to local cuts. Murray schools lost $7 million from what was formerly a $60 million budget this year.

Hubbard said federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds will be in play in 2010, helping to offset some of the expected state budget cuts, but the money won’t be a cure-all.

“(The session is) going to be brutal,” Hubbard said. “It’s going to be brutal across the board.”

At Dalton State College, officials said they’re saving $100,000 a year by closing the continuing education department and another $75,000 by closing a satellite campus in Fort Oglethorpe, and are deferring maintenance items as much as they can.

“Of course, we’re going to keep the lights on and the buildings heated to do what we can to make sure it’s safe and comfortable, but if there’s something that can be put off (until) next year, we’ll do that,” said John Hutcheson, vice president for academic affairs.

The college’s state funding dropped from $15.4 million last year to $14 million in the current fiscal year that began July 1.



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By the numbers

For the fiscal year that began July 1 and continues through June 30.

Dalton Public Schools

Property tax rate is 7.56 mills

State funding loss: $3 million

Current year state funding: $29.8 million

Total budget: $59.6 million

Whitfield County Schools

Property tax rate is 14.756 mills

State funding loss: $5.9 million less for fiscal year 2010 under the state Quality Basic Education formula and also $2.8 million in state grants. The funding drop is offset partially by $3.9 million in federal stimulus money. The net reduction from the state is $4.8 million.

Current year state funding: $73.2 million

Total budget: $108 million

Murray County Schools

Property tax rate: 15.5 mills

State funding loss: $1.7 million

Current year state funding: About $33 million

Total budget: $53 million