Budget 2010

The economy has been on the mind of everyone lately; it seems as though the news is bad all over. Every time the news comes on, so does another bad piece of news about the economy.

A year ago in June of 2009, our school system was faced with a very difficult financial crisis. Due to budget shortfalls, caused primarily by reduced tax intake, our school system was to lose 60 positions. To put this in perspective, this would have meant a 15% decrease in teaching positions. These cuts would have not only destroyed our schools, but our local economy, taking over 2 million dollars out of our county. These cuts would have meant further reductions in taxes collected, causing a snowball effect and putting us in danger of an even worse scenario the following year.

It was at this point last year that we learned that the federal stimulus would be coming and bringing close to 2 million dollars to our school system. Our plan had been to use these funds to add 21st century technology to every school in the form of laptops, handheld devices and other instructional technology hardware. Myself, along with the board and our leadership team, felt strongly that while this technology plan would be a great luxury, the necessity of keeping talented teachers outweighed the benefits of the added technology. With careful planning and the use of the added federal stimulus money, our job cuts went from 60 to just one for the 2009-2010 school year.

We held out hope during the 2009-2010 school year that things would improve, but we prepared for the worst, knowing that Columbus County Schools has to revert 1.4 million dollars to the state at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. As staff retired or resigned, we held as many positions as possible open in anticipation of the job cuts that would be occurring in June of 2010. When the reality of the budget situation came into focus, we realized that we could no longer avoid the loss of positions. Because we no longer had stimulus money, cuts had to be made. We followed the state recommended Reduction in Force policy and used a point system to determine which staff would be cut. This was not an easy thing to do- in fact this has been one of the most difficult processes I can ever recall in education. In this case, we made the best choices to ensure all our children have what they need to learn and be prepared for their future. There has been much publicity surrounding the nature of our job losses. While it is true that we reduced our positions by 25, we have reassigned and rehired 18 of the people involved. Overall 7 people have lost their jobs as of this writing. While this is still less than ideal, we have made every effort to balance the needs of our children with the needs of our staff.


Our school system exists for our stakeholders and we certainly welcome vigorous questioning of our choices. Some have questioned the timing of opening up a new school (Fair Bluff Technical Academy), and opening an Early College, and investing in projects like sending students abroad to places like Denmark. These types of questions are all valid, and I want our stakeholders to know a couple of things. First, we make what is best for students our top priority. We are bound ethically to pursue opportunities that will benefit our students and accomplish our mission of preparing students for a global society. Second though, it is important for everyone to note that in nearly all cases, these new and ongoing programs are accomplished either in part or in whole from outside funding, and would not decrease funds available for hiring. Not only should we pursue innovative opportunities, but when funds are available to supplement the cost, our school system would be doing a disservice to our students and our community by refusing these programs.

One final note is that the budget situation for the 2010-2011 school year is not completely settled. Lawmakers in Raleigh are still debating on final cuts that have to be made. It is possible that we COULD lose another 12-15 positions, and additional money may have to go back to the state even after the budgets are finalized. When these facts are pared with the reality that our local government contributes funds at a rate less than half the state average, the likelihood is that things will get a little worse before they improve. We understand that the county commissioners have proposed that a ¼ cent sales tax increase be placed on the ballot in November. Needless to say, any additional revenues coming into our county can only help our situation.

The situation seems desperate, and while it is bad, our school system is confident in our staff, and we know that while situations may not be perfect, our students will continue to get a top quality education. We do ask your help in one very important way. Please get involved with your child’s school or a school in your area. In difficult times, both in this country and in this county, the people that make up our towns, communities and schools have a history of prevailing. This time, I feel, will be no different.