Wake school board asks for $40.3M budget increase from commissioners, less than expected costs

The Wake County Board of Education voted Tuesday night on a budget to send to Wake County commissioners that includes a request for about $40 million more from the county.

It also includes more than $18 million in cuts, largely to digital learning coordinators, social workers, counselors, some secretaries, some school supplies and other expenses -- less than 1% of the district's more than $2.2 billion budget.

"This year's budget request is a conservative one," district Chief Business Officer David Neter said. It includes no new programs, unlike recent budgets, and is intended to support rising costs of operations and four new schools opening next year.

"A budget is not a legislative agenda," Board Chairman Chris Heagarty said. "It's not a wish list."

Board members said the board has a legal responsbility have a balanced budget and that they didn't like the cuts they were suggesting they'd make.

Heagarty said the board needs to be conservative in case more federal funding is cut and the county needs to step in to continue programs. The Trump administration has canceled two grants to the system for teacher training and mental health professionals.

"We have a tremendous amount of uncertainty hanging over us," Heagarty said.

Several speakers during the board's public comment Tuesday asked the school board to ask the county for more than $60 million more in funding -- the amount the school system expects to need to cover increased operating costs next year -- instead of cutting expenses.

They noted poorly functioning HVAC and other broken facilities in schools.

"We can all hear how bad the HVAC system is here tonight," said Christine Zaccardi, referencing the board room's air conditioning system, in which fans could be heard at a frequently changing and higher-than-usual volume all night.

Zaccardi, a media specialist at Farmington Woods Magnet Elementary, said the third-grade hallways was so warm last week that children complained of headaches. Only one staff bathroom works, she said.

The board voted 6-3 to approved the budget request.

Board Members Chris Heagarty, Tyler Swanson, Lindsay Mahaffey, Sam Hershey, Lynn Emdonds and Toshiba Rice voted in favor.

Board Members Wing Ng, Christina Gordon and Cheryl Caulfield voted against it. They said certain things were cut that they didn't support, including a reduction in the proposed increase to educator salary supplement, from 3% to 1.5%, which would be about $100 to $200 per year for most teachers.

"I have a hard time believing we cannot conserve in other areas," Caulfield said.

Gordon favored asking for the more than $60 million in expected cost increases and said the budget felt like "surrender."

But Rice compared the board's situation to a parent who doesn't have enough money to afford as nice of things as they'd like to for their children.

"I want my kid to have the great shoes... but that's just not what my budget is," Rice said.

What's in the budget proposal

The school board's budget and finance committee tentatively agreed last week on a budget request that would require some cuts to personnel, supplies and services. But the board isn't agreeing to all of the $18 million in cuts first posed by Superintendent Robert Taylor in March. The committee favors keeping the district's contribution to dental insurance, not cutting from the district's lowest-performing schools and keeping some maintenance projects Taylor had recommended deferring.

The board's changes to Taylor's proposal include raising air conditioning set points by one degree, lowering heating set points by one degree, and providing a salary supplement increase of only 1.5%, amounting to about $100-$200 more in salary for most teachers.

The school board has tried to make cuts outside of the classroom.

But some speakers during Tuesday night's public comment were concerned that cutting resources around classrooms would ultimately burden those classrooms and teachers.

"If we continue to strip away resources and support systems that ultimately sustain [the teachers] you risk losing educators who are truly the backbone of our schools," said Gabrielle Jarrell, a Wake County resident.

Cutting 10 digital learning coordinators would leave about 10 of them.

Christine Jensen, media coordinator at Ligon Magnet Middle, said the coordinators provide important and frequent support for school staff on using things like Canvas and various other software. The digital learning coordinators also train educators on how to use the student information system software, which is changing over from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus on July 1. That's another concern for Jensen.

"They are the ones training us and we are cutting half of them," she said.

On Monday night, Ellis recommended a $35 million increase to education spending, less than the about $40 million increase Taylor was hoping for. County commissioners typically have given the school system more than Ellis has recommended.

Wake County commissioners plan to vote in June on a final budget. The state budget could also prompt changes in the school board's and commissioners' planning. The state Senate has proposed a budget for the next biennium, but the state House of Representatives has not.

The draft budget before the school board would require roughly $40 million more from the county. But that is still less than the more than $60 million in expected increased operating costs that Taylor expects next year, prompting him to propose more than $18 million in cuts.

He expects costs to rise because of higher enrollment, four new schools opening, rising benefit costs and the likelihood that the county will need to raise locally funded employees' pay to match any new state employee pay increases.

The school district's operating budget tops $2.2 billion, meaning the cuts represent less than 1% of the budget.

Some of the positions proposed to be cut aren't filled, and the district hopes to move current employees to other open positions, if the budget were implemented.

Board members had zeroed in a few items Taylor proposed cutting, trying to find ways to keep them. That included the dental insurance contribution, which costs about $2.5 million, the $600,000 in proposed maintenance cuts and the $1 million in proposed cuts to low-performing "Restart Schools," which sometimes have more money to spend because of regulatory flexibility.

Changing school temperatures -- a measure undertaken during the tight budget of the Great Recession, as well -- will save $500,000. Raising the educator salary supplement by only 1.5% instead of 3% will save $2.8 million. The district can also use roughly $1 million in "community use" funds to help cover some costs without disrupting community use programs, officials said.

Those programs include activities hosted by community groups on Wake school campuses, which often require them to pay a fee.

Wake teachers concerned about HVAC issues, staffing cuts

Ahead of the vote, teachers pushing back against budget cuts held walk-ins at several schools Tuesday morning, including Enloe Magnet High School.

They did so against the backdrop of national Teacher Appreciation Week, which Wake County commissioners voted to recognize Monday.

Jeffrey Fuss is among the teachers asking the Wake County Board of Education to vote for no budget cuts.

"Unfortunately our schools in the whole county are stuck with budget constraints at the current moment, especially as the funds are drying up," Fuss said. "Right now our school is at maximum capacity, and with these budget cuts unfortunately we're looking at a couple things on the table."

Fuss expressed concern about how a cut in funding could impact HVAC issues in schools.

"Our classrooms got up to 80 degrees this past week," he said. "It's not the best learning environment."

The budget doesn't include an attempt to resolve the about $200 million in deferred maintenance on heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, which frequently break down.

On Tuesday, County Manager David Ellis told WRAL News that the county is having ongoing conversations with school system leaders about issues with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that have led to uncomfortable classrooms and even dozens of early dismissals on exceptionally hot or cold days.

"I can't tell you exactly what the strategy or strategies will be, but there have been ongoing conversations," he said.

While the state is the primary funder of education and counties are responsible for facilities, Ellis said he's constrained by the county's need to add educational programs not funded by the state, as well as the county's non-educational needs.

"What the county is trying to do is bridge the gap between what the state doesn't provide and what the school system needs," Ellis said. "In the end, I have to look at the whole county."

Fuss also worried the cuts could lead to a possible reduction in staff, including clerical and secretarial staff.

"It's only going to lead to... less staff for classroom management and security especially if the front staff gets cut, because they're the eyes and ears of the school," Fuss said.