| County schools to get less from RuCo |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
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Posted: Saturday, May 30, 2009 8:17 am
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Rutherford County Schools is getting a little less than they asked for next year.
The school board asked for $46.3 million from the county in fiscal year 2010 that would require a 5.5-cent increase to the county’s property tax.
But the Budget Committee balked at the figure and reduced the request by $875,000, which saves property owners 2 cents on the tax rate.
“Last night in Budget (Committee) that was reduced to 3.5,” Budget Committee Chairwoman Joyce Ealy said.
The school system is still getting more than last year, County Finance Director Lisa Nolen said.
Earlier this week, the Health and Education Committee unanimously approved the school board’s proposed budget, but expressed concerns about the amount budgeted for utility costs.
“The county commission just gives the school board a dollar amount,” Ealy explained. “We don’t tell them how to spend it. We just give them a dollar amount.”
The proposed school board budget must now be passed by the full commission.
The Budget Committee chose to reduce the total amount allocated to the system, which may force the school board to adjust utility costs down.
Previously, RCS Director Harry Gill Jr. said the school board is only asking for what it needs in the next fiscal year. The board has cut all it can and student-pupil ratios will increase over the next year because of the cuts.
The property tax increase is need to fund the opening of Brown’s Chapel Elementary School in the fall and an anticipated drop in state funding through the Basic Education Program (BEP), RCS Finance Director Jeff Sandvig said.
The state has reduced its education funding projections by about $500,000 for next year. Tennessee will give $197,321,221 to Rutherford County Schools for its more than $243 million budget this year, with the county expected to provide the remaining $46.3 million.
The school board has projected a $7.7 million increase in its proposed budget, based on 2 percent to 2.5 percent growth. But because of cuts made to the budget, the school system asked for an additional $2.3 million from the county.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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