School budget approved
By Jason Peck
With little commotion, school board members on Monday, May 12 finally approved their operating budget for the next school year.
The operating budget comes to approximately $72 million, roughly a four-percent jump from the previous year.
Board members then approved a $3.1 million food service budget, bringing the total to $75 million.
Superintendent David Cox had originally proposed a $17 million increase in the school budget. However, the county's $4 million budget shortfall lead to negotiations with county supervisors and to outrage from parents who worried about program cuts.
County supervisors provided the board with an additional $1.8 million through a three-cent raise in the real estate tax. Another $600,000 will come from the county's general fund, typically reserved for one-time expenses. Slight increases in state and miscellaneous revenues accounted for the rest.
The approved budget would open both Eastern View High School and Yowell Elementary this fall. The budget includes no program cuts, but scales back some courses.
The board voted 6-1 in favor, with Rusty Jenkins (Catalpa District) voting against.
“I just felt there were some positions in there that needed to be changed to teaching positions,” Jenkins said.