During a finance committee meeting, Hamilton County Schools Chief Financial Officer Tommy Kranz estimated that the school system faces a $1.4 million projected budget deficit, the smallest in years.

"For us, that's real close to being balanced," he said. "Normally that number is closer to $6 million or $7 million."

If the Hamilton County Commission succeeds in withholding the Payment in Lieu of Taxes money set aside from schools, as commissioners discussed doing this morning, the school district would be $7.4 million in the hole, Kranz said.

The commission suggested this morning that the county set the PILOT money aside to pay primarily for land acquisition for schools, building new schools, and renovating and maintaining current facilities.

See Friday's Times Free Press for complete coverage.