Wake County school board works to close gap in funding, budget

Education funding fell short of what the district wanted, meaning board members must now figure out how to fill the gap.

On Monday night, county commissioners approved a $45 million increase for the district for the 2019 fiscal year.

While the board is pleased, board members said they need more because of the historic population growth in Wake County.

The next step is filling in a nearly $24 million gap with minimal impact to students and education quality.

"We have to keep up with growth, and we're adding four new schools," board member Kathy Hartenstine said. "That's our primary goal - the children."

In a letter to her colleagues, Board Chair Monika Johnson-Hostler addressed the budget gap and brought up possible measures the school system will take to balance the numbers, such as cutting some bus services to families, moving staff around and increasing class sizes.

Now board members are pleading with commissioners to have a long-term plan for Raleigh's rapid growth and how it will impact the school system.

"We need to work with the commissioners to have a long-term strategy to make sure that growth pays for itself and our children are not the ones that are bearing such a heavy burden," board member Jim Martin said.

The school system has until June 30 to approve a final budget for the 2019 fiscal year. Commissioners could approve an interim budget before that June deadline, however.