Administrative Matters
Board Chair Sandy Ellington-Graves announced that today is the last day of the superintendent search survey for community members & ABSS staff to complete.
Budget Presentation
Dr. Harrison shared the budget presentation and requested a vote today in order to get it to the Alamance County Board of Commissioners as legally required by tomorrow, May 15.
Dr. Harrison reviewed the budget proposal information shared at the last board meeting and highlighted more information about how the state allots funds to districts. He shared that this is a very difficult budget; all decisions were made carefully to demonstrate to the community and commissioners that ABSS is fiscally responsible. He stressed that every position is valuable to the district.
Highlights of State Funding Allotments for ABSS for 2024-2025 School Year
For next year, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is projecting that ABSS will have nearly 600 fewer students than the current enrollment; the equivalent of a loss of $4 million in allocation. The district is seeking more information from NCDPI about why this determination was made.
ABSS is facing a loss of more than $7 million in federal funding with ESSER funds ending in September 2024. This is a situation faced by every school district across the state and nation. To get back on solid financial footing, ABSS must follow state allotment guidelines for staffing and cut a number of positions now paid with ESSER funds.
How is ABSS funded?
State funds provide between 65-68% of total district funding; federal funds account for approximately 10-15% of the total budget, and local funds provide the other 10-15% of funds. Nearly 90% of the ABSS budget is spent on personnel.
Dr. Harrison outlined how teachers are allotted by the state. ABSS is allotted 37 principals for next year with 38 schools. The district must use other funding sources to cover positions not allotted by the state. ABSS is allotted 22 assistant principals for next school year for 38 schools. The district also has to use other funding sources to ensure each school has an assistant principal as state funds are not sufficient, or “ridiculously low” as Dr. Harrison phrased it.
For the School Health Personnel budget code that includes psychologists, nurses, counselors and social workers, the state allots 52 positions. ABSS currently has 112 positions in this category. ABSS also uses the Instructional Support funding code to pay for 53 additional 10-month positions, but is 25 positions over what the state allots for this critical student support.
The state allotment for classroom materials/instructional supplies will be $687,000 for more than 21,000 students next year in ABSS.
The At Risk Fund allotment provides $420,000 for SROs. ABSS spends in excess of $3 million for SROs annually and makes up the shortfall in state funding for SROs with local funds.
In conclusion, Dr. Harrison asked that the board approve the recommended deficit corrective actions outlined at the last meeting to fill the $7.5 million deficit caused by the end of ESSER funding.
In addition, he recommended the board approve a continuation budget to present to the commissioners in addition to an expansion budget proposal for a total local budget request of $59,170,941 for the 2024-2025 school year.
After much discussion, board members asked Dr. Harrison to stress to the commissioners what the loss of $7.5 million in ESSER funds represents and how valuable the positions are that the district is losing with the deficit reduction cuts. The board approved the deficit reduction plan, the budget proposal of $59.170.941 to take to the commissioners, and that payroll changes for employees losing months of employment would take effect July 1. Board members thanked Dr. Harrison and staff for their hard work in making these tough decisions.
CTE Application for State and Federal Funding
The board unanimously approved the district’s CTE application for state and federal funding for the next 2 years.
Operations
The board approved the MFM custodial contract for an additional year.
A budget amendment for renovation of the Western High School track was unanimously approved.
A contract to Hamlett Associates for replacement of the track was also approved.
A contract for Triangle Paving to improve paving and traffic routing at A-O Elementary was approved.
Greg Hook presented an update on the available balance left on bond proceeds, including additional revenue from sales tax savings as Alamance County does not have to pay sales tax.