As the state budget has dropped from about $7 billion to $6 billion, Anderson One has lost about $3 million in state funds, said Anderson One Superintendent Wayne Fowler during Tuesday’s board meeting.
The state legislature has begun considering a resolution to that would allow districts more ability to transfer funds and to furlough teachers, administrators and school staff for up to five days. If the bill passes, it will help districts retain more teachers next school year, Fowler said after the meeting.
The district cannot furlough teachers right now, since they’re contractual employees and the state requires them to receive a designated amount. South Carolina law also requires that its teachers are paid at least $300 above the Southeastern average.
Anderson One has trimmed costs through actions such as: implementing a hiring freeze, reducing travel and staff development and eliminating after-school programs other than those that are federally funded. But all together, those budget cuts have amounted to $688,655, only about one-fourth of the budget shortfall, according to Anderson One Finance Director Steve Uldrick.
The state Budget and Control Board is already anticipating another budget cut, and Fowler said they’ve been told to expect another approximately 6 percent shortfall. If that happens, the district could lose up to another $1 million, according to Uldrick.
“When we passed our budget at the beginning of the school year, we couldn’t really see that this was going to happen to us, because we based in on the faith that we were going to receive this money,” Uldrick said.
“One good thing is that we’ve got a fund balance that we can fall back on right now to soften the blow, so to speak,” he said.
The board plans to hold a work session at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10 to discuss the budget cuts and begin reviewing next year’s budget.
Post a Comment
