Cumberland County Commissioners Approve Budget; Schools Face $5.7 Million In Cuts

In a barely-filled room, Cumberland County commissioners unveiled their budget Monday night for the next fiscal year. Thanks to

additional money

, a number of sheriff's deputies, school nurses and crossing guards will keep their jobs.

However, as anticipated,

Cumberland County schools

face a $5.7 million cut, which means no middle school sports, fewer teachers and assistant principals and larger class sizes.

Although the school board threatened to take legal action because of the proposed budget, county commissioners hope it does not come to that point.

"No one wins in a lawsuit. It's not that we're looking forward to this," says county chairman Lee Warren. "This isn't an action we were really wanting to take. This is something we had to do this year."

Commissioners say, despite the proposed budget, schools are very high on their priority list. They hope to get some extra money from the state, of which a portion would be put back into the school system.