Wake schools bracing for 'economic hurricane'

Raleigh, N.C. — The Wake County school system's superintendent said the district faces "the highest level of financial uncertainty" he has experienced in his lifetime and that the system is bracing for "an economic hurricane."

While delivering his proposed budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Del Burns told Board of Education members Tuesday afternoon that the school system will continue a hiring freeze for central office positions and warned that contracts set to expire at the end of June might not be renewed.

“It’s scary for those that are on non-renewable contracts because they’re the ones that are out there,” said Jennifer Lanane, president of the Wake County chapter of the N.C. Association of Educators.

About, 1,500 employees have contracts that will expire. It is unknown what departments those employees work in.

“It translates to children’s seats in classrooms and larger class sizes, less services and that’s very grim for public education,” Lanane said.

The system will fill 95 percent of its anticipated school-based positions until state and local budgets are set, Burns said.

It will also make permanent $11 million in state and local cuts initiated in December, Burns said.

“(There will be) no growth, no inflation, no improvements, nothing – except legislated salary increases and benefits projected at a very low level," Burns said.

Despite 2,300 students projected to join the school system next year, Burns said his budget does not ask for any additional funding, because it won't be there.

"This budget maintains the county appropriation request at the prior year level of $316 million," he said. "The result is that the per-pupil county appropriation for 2009-2010 will be less than the per-pupil appropriation on July 1, 2008.”

The per-pupil county appropriation for the 2008-2009 school year was $2,218. This year the county is requesting $2,182.

Burns said it is still unclear how much the school system will lose in state funding but that board members should expect a nearly $40 million funding gap.

Earlier Tuesday, a school board committee decided to look into delaying funding for 12 projects for at least another year or two.

That includes construction of four new schools – Forest Ridge High on Forestville Road in northern Wake County; Rolesville Middle, Walnut Creek Elementary in Raleigh and Wilburn Elementary in Raleigh.

Funding for new technology needs is also on hold.

School board members meet Thursday to discuss the proposed budget. A public hearing may also be held, officials said.

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Latest Comments

But how will this affect the WCPSS's ability to teach the kids that it's OK for Tommy to have 2 Daddies, or that Margie isn't SO different because she has 2 Mommies?

Let me float some ideas.

Go back to teaching the basics. Reading, writing, math, etc. Quit all the social engineering. Leave lifestyle teaching to dad and dad, or mom and mom, or even weirder, to mom and dad.

Quit rewriting the history books every 2 or 3 years. Add a workbook for a few years.

Quit coming up with a NEW math every few year. 2 + 2 = 4, I don't care how you re-package it.

Give some authority BACK to the teachers so the kids have to obey them. Quit siding with the kids AGAINST the teachers. 30 kids don't need a teacher and two aids, unless mom and dad undermine their authority. 40 years ago we had JUST a teacher.

Likewise, a school with a few hundred kids doesn't need 40 non-teaching support people. Send about half of them home. Good admin people can work anywhere. Bad ones can sell fries at BK

discowhale
March 4, 2009 4:33 p.m.

"So I would like to know how they are qualified to make decisions on the youth of Wake Co."

They aren't! Surprised!?

time4real
March 4, 2009 2:09 p.m.

Send the kids back to their neighborhood schools. save a ton on fuel costs for shipping them all over wake county. refuse to return the 5.5 mil. the state has demanded returned. sell lottery tickets at all school functions and pocket the cash...all the cash. the state doesn't get a dime of it, even the tax due from the sales.

SilverWolf
March 4, 2009 11:06 a.m.

Thank god we have the education lottery... oh.. nevermind. We're screwed!

riddick
March 4, 2009 10:24 a.m.

Ok so here we go. Wake County has to let teachers go because the Board is to Stupid to figure out that they could keep those teachers if they weren't wasting money by busing kids all over God's creation. Also has anyone really taken the time to look at the 9 board members credentials? It looks like to that only 3 of them have actually taught in a classroom and of those 3, only one of them taught in a public school system, the other 2 taught only at Universities. So I would like to know how they are qualified to make decisions on the youth of Wake Co. when a majority of them have never stepped one foot into the classroom, and by the way in my opinion being involved with the PTA doesn't count as experience to me because it is obvious that they weren't paying attention to what the other parents were saying.