Christie Jordan, center, goes over finance items Tuesday as Linda Mosley, left, and Dr. Jim Scales listen during a Hamilton County School Board Finance Committee meeting.
Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free PressA new estimate of a $14 million revenue shortfall for next year’s budget put Hamilton County school board members in a bad mood Tuesday, which led to some testy exchanges between board members and school administrators.
The shortfall was revised from a previous estimate of $10.7 million. Accounting and Budgeting Director Christie Jordan said the higher figure is the result of additions to the budget and expectations that revenue from property taxes will decrease.
Board members didn’t come to any conclusions about what cuts should be made to address the deficit, and after talking about two hours, they pushed off a decision until their April 14 meeting.
Board member Linda Mosley, chairwoman of the Budget and Finance Committee, said she’s asking for board member recommendations on other possible cuts.
Presented in a packets given to board members from system administrators, a list of cuts titled “additional cuts for discussion” included cutting middle school athletics, which would save $788,077, and cutting transportation for high school students, saving $2.6 million.