DALTON, Ga. – With a big boost in state funding, the city school system hopes to hire seven new teachers and raise salaries 1 percent across the board.
The Dalton Board of Education introduced its latest budget draft during a public meeting Tuesday night, highlighted by proposed spending and revenue increases. Compared to Fiscal Year 2018, next year’s budget would go up $6.3 million, an 8.6 percent increase. Revenues, meanwhile, would go up $4.8 million, a 6.5 percent increase.
Budget at a glance
› Total revenues: $79.4 million (6.5 percent)› Total expenses: $81.1 million (8.6 percent)› Current fund balance: $13.9 million› Proposed fund balance: $12.8 million
Of the extra money coming in, about $2.8 million is from the state. The other $2 million would be from local property owners, covering a debt payment on a new bond. Voters approved the bond in a referendum in November, with the money going to construction of a new sixth- and seventh- grade academy.
“I think these address our strategic goals properly,” Fromm said of the proposed budget Tuesday night.