Budget Crisis at GCS

Both the new supe and the new incoming GCS Board will have to wrestle with a sudden budget crisis, both being blamed on our country's economic woes, and the poor spending habits among our dubious legislators in Raleigh. As a result, monies will have to be sent back, a hiring freeze is threatened and even construction projects may be put on hold because those hotly-debated bonds may be cancelled (more on that in a moment).

First, in response to yesterday's sudden news that GCS will have to return $2.8 million to the state, GCS chief Mo Green released this statement:

"We have been informed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) that the state's school districts and charter schools will be required to return $58 million, or 0.75 percent, of their allotted state funds due to a decline in the state government's revenue.

This reduction amounts to approximately $2.8 million for Guilford County Schools.

The amount does not include the adjustment(s) that will be made to our state allotments as a result of the fact that while our enrollment increased for the 2008-09 school year, we did not meet our student projection of 72,219. We anticipate that NCDPI will complete its student enrollment calculations by early December and then inform affected districts about allotment adjustments. Since GCS is between 600 and 700 students under projection, we expect this adjustment to cost us an additional $2 million to $2.3 million, bringing the combined total of adjustments to approximately $5 million.

We recognize that we are not immune to the economic conditions afflicting our country. We know that the services provided to our students will be affected, but we will try to minimize the impact.

We intend to explore a variety of options to plug this impending deficit. In the meantime, we have taken a few steps to give us more flexibility as we make decisions about which cuts to make. In particular, we have instituted a hiring freeze except for certain positions. In addition, we have not released 25 percent of instructional supply dollars that are generally allotted to schools.

We will keep you informed as we make decisions about the cuts. In the meantime we remain resolute in our commitment to:

* being child-centered in all of our actions;
* being united in our quest to improve the lives and academic achievement levels for all students; and
* being excellent and demanding the same of all employees and students."

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Whoa, Mo...stop the tape.

You just said: "we have instituted a hiring freeze except for certain positions."

So with the release of this sudden and stunning news that our state government will be unable to fulfill its primary mission (which is to educate its children), will you rescind the most recent hiring of Nora Carr, who will be making $150,000 yearly simply to help make GCS look good in the local public eye, instead of yanking those vital supply dollars to our schools and teachers who need those monies the most? Will classroom positions be frozen?

I think the public is owed more of a clear explanation as to GCS' plans for the immediate future.
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And to add insult to injury, Guilford County Commissioners told the School Board yesterday that its construction projects may be cancelled because those massive bonds passed back in the spring may not sell (links from the N&R both here and here).

Aww......

N&R:

"I've never seen a situation like this," county Finance Director Brenda Fox told the group. "Typically we don't even give it a thought that our bonds wouldn't sell."

But with credit markets frozen that fear has come to light.

On Jan. 13 the county will attempt to sell $232.6 million in bonds of the $651.4 million approved earlier this year and $23 million from the 2004 referendum. The amount to be offered in January includes $100 million for school construction and $45 million for Eastern Guilford High School. Fox believes, based on her analysis, the $100 million would carry school construction through spring 2010.

I hate to say I told you so...but this is what I campaigned on back in the Spring. The bonds were too massive to begin with, and despite its passage, it remained grossly unpopular with a number of school reform-minded voters countywide.

So now, maybe someone downtown will start listening to me in terms of how we deal with school construction from here on out...I said that we need to explore more public-private partnerships, or perhaps having counties/municipalities build schools and lease the buildings to GCS.

Of course, it was outgoing GCS Board member Anita Sharpe, who said that campaigning against the bonds in a school board election was wrong. Well Anita, now that the thinly-veiled threat of the bonds cancellation is looming, do you care for some salt with that crow you and others are about to eat?

E.C. :)