DALTON, Ga. — The Dalton Public Schools system could see an increasingly tighter budget as the summer wears on and state funding figures are finalized.
School board members on Friday unanimously approved a preliminary general fund budget of $56.7 million, while a date for final approval looms on June 14.
“We’ve really been working on this budget — the staff has — since last fall when school started,” Superintendent Jim Hawkins told board members.
The 2010-2011 budget reflects an approximate 5 percent decrease from the current year’s budget, Dr. Hawkins said.
“We really, really tried to be balanced, to not go extreme one way or the other,” he said.
While general fund budget projections are balanced, records show the total preliminary budget for all funds stands at $74.5 million in revenue and $77.2 million in projected expenditures, a shortfall of $2.6 million.
“We’ll be using some of the fund balance in capital projects and in debt service,” he said.
Dr. Hawkins said a decline of about 4 percent in the overall revenue from property taxes will have some impact on revenue projections, and officials are almost certain to see more state cuts. Another unknown is student enrollment for next fall, which could have an impact on how many teachers are needed, he said.
BY THE NUMBERS* $59.6 million: 2010 budget* $56.7 million: 2011 preliminary budget* $4.9 million: Projected 2011 austerity cutsSource: Dalton Public Schools
Projected enrollment growth is about 124 students, he said. Contracts already have been issued to certified personnel for next year, so there is little flexibility if projections are off by much, he said.
Board chairman Steve Williams said that, in his nine years on the board, the budgeting process had never been so difficult or required so much input from the staff and public.
“There have been very heartfelt comments,” Mr. Williams said. “I am very grateful for the process developed by the district.”
Board member Mark Orr, a 13-year board veteran, said it has been only in the last five years that the mid-term supplemental budget from the state went from being a small funding boost to the cuts school systems have seen in the last few years.
He said it is very hard to plan for the mid-term adjustments handed down by the state.
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