Kathleen Robles, Charger Staff
The School Bugdet is an annual dilemma. This year there was a new twist. The
school board and the county commission were able to quickly come to agreement
on the tax rate needed for schools and move the process forward. The board is
expected to give final approval at their regular meeting on September 5.
What was involved in this year’s request? The first piece of the puzzle
was to seek approval from the commission to waive the debt service payment.
When Cookeville High School was built, the costs went over budget. Since 1996,
the schools have been paying the county back for Cookeville High, giving three
hundred thousand dollars a year. Waiver of this debt service payment will provide
half of the start up costs for the new Upperman High School and Cornerstone
Middle School the new middle school slated to open in the current Upperman building.
Another item in this year’s budget is an improved salary schedule for support
staff. They are the group of people who run the buses, clean the floors, and
cook the food. The new salary schedule to be phased in over two years will bring
support staff salaries in line with comparable positions in county government.
Teachers will also receive a 4.5% increase on the local portion of their salaries
(the state pays about 74% of salaries, the local share is about 26%).
Last year’s budget crisis at the state level created a potential crisis
at the local level. To avoid a potentially devastating situation, Dr. Michael
Martin imposed a spending freeze at mid-year in order to insure that basic expenses
such as teacher salaries could be met. Although the spending freeze left classrooms
lacking supplies, the belt-tightening paid off. When the state resolved its
budget crisis, Putnam County schools were left with a 1.4 million dollar surplus
to apply toward this year’s budget needs.
Another budget boost this year will come when the federal government’s
fiscal year begins in October. At that time much of the cost of the JROTC program
at Cookeville High School will be paid for by the federal government. The goverment
is paying for the personnel, equipment, and extra supplies. The school system’s
share will be about ten thousand dollars. There will be over a hundred students
enrolled in the program this year.
It is generally agreed that the increase in the sales tax imposed by the state
legislature to balance the books this year is a temporary fix at best. This
fall will bring a new face to the governor’s office andnew faces in the
state legislature. The idea of a state income tax is considered a dead issue
for now but new players could change that as well.
The November election will also include a vote on a state lottery with proceeds
earmarked for education, specifically scholarships much like those now available
in Georgia. What the voters will decide is anyone’s guess.
Are the “bad old days” of lengthy budget battles between the school
board and the county commission in Putnam County relegated to the history books?
Probably not.
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Article prepared for web by J. Wheeler 6-Sept-2002