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Published: 2012-05-15 07:53:00
Updated: 2012-05-15 13:18:09

Wake board looks for money for school buses, supplies


middle school, school bus
middle school, school bus
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While most Wake County families will know by Tuesday where their children are going to school next year, the school board continues to figure out where to find the money to get hundreds of children to school and to keep their classrooms supplied.

Tuesday opens a two-week window for parents to appeal their child's school assignment or to request a transfer.

School officials said they consider requests based on school capacity and factors that would create a hardship for families, such as health concerns, moving or having children on different calendars. Forms and directions for transfer requests can be found online.

At its meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Wake County Board of Education will consider arranging and paying for transportation for 550 students who chose not to switch to a new school provided by the new assignment plan and to be grandfathered into their old school.

Board member Jim Martin has said the the district needs to provide transportation for all students, but board member John Tedesco called for waiting to see how many parents the school system could help before making a promise. School staff said further research and working models might help a majority of the students in need of busing.

Formal, written notification goes out Tuesday to parents of children who were assigned earlier, and the families with new children in the school system or who moved within the county could check their assignment online as of Monday.

The school board will also discuss deep cuts to cleaning services and classroom supplies that its budget adopted in early May makes to partially offset a loss of $38 million in federal and state funding.

The school board is considering making a one-time transfer from its $34 million rainy day fund to pay for those expenses.

That budget already calls for using $28 million from the fund, but school board members have disagreed on whether they should fully tap out the reserve fund before asking county leaders for more money.

County commissioners have indicated that they will be able provide some but not all of the $8.8 million requested by the school board, representing a 2.8 percent increase from the county's contribution of $314 million this year.

The school system's proposed budget doesn't cut any jobs and covers enrolling 3,500 new students, opening four new schools and giving a 1 percent raise to teachers and $500 bonus to other staff.

Wake County commissioners will review their finances at a meeting Wednesday. They must adopt a final budget by June 18, and based on the level of county funding, the school board has until June 30 to adjust its budget.

  • Web Editor: Anne Johnson

46 Comments


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Maybe parents should consider the school environment before they a) move to Wake County b) have a bunch of kids and then complain there's not enough of other people's money to feed, teach and chauffeur all of them, eh? Seems like it's time to reform this public assistance program too. One and done!

Quit trying to bus kids all over the County and wasting fuel in the name of 'economic diversity'... I promise you'll find millions of dollars. Buy all the supplies you need and you shouldn't need more buses.

Well you can't dumb down the schools much more than they already are; the lottery money is being stolen; the only other ways to steal yet more taxpayer money is to draw out the kiddys transportation costs and time, lengthen the school day and year, or make up some more rediculous tests for the teachers to waste resources "teaching for the test".

We may be able to cut education spending, but it's not a good idea. When we spend more, we get better education.

Just got the award for the most incompetent post of the day. We have blown so much money on education its absurd, we are NOT getting our money's worth by a long shot.

Start cutting at the top and they will have plenty of money.

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