Durham Public Schools unveils reduced budget

The $418.2 million budget – nearly $21 million less than the previous year – reflects an anticipated 9 percent decrease in state funding and a loss of $3 million from lottery money that was used to support teacher jobs.

In order to address the reductions, the district has taken several proactive measures, Becoats said in a press release.  

The DPS has reserved $6.2 million in federal EdJobs funding to help offset the anticipated federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and state funding losses. The district also froze spending in the third quarter of the 2010 fiscal year and restricted spending in the second half of the 2011 fiscal year.

The proposed budget requires the district to reduce spending on contracted services, furniture and equipment, supplies and materials, mobile communication devices and utilities and the use of reserved savings.

Despite these efforts, DPS leaders said it still needs an additional $4 million from the county to support operations for the next fiscal year.