By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
Although the entire budget requests of the county’s two school districts will not be funded, the Orange County Board of Commissioners were able to find an additional $1,280,500 to allocate to the schools for 2012-13.
On Tuesday night, the board approved a resolution of intent to adopt the FY 2012-13 Orange County Annual Operating Budget, which included an increase of $1,524,676 to the county manager’s recommended budget, bringing the county’s operating budget to $180,002,776.
Without raising taxes the board was able increase the budget to fund services such as the Dispute Settlement Center, Freedom House, a community center on Rogers Road and four additional operating hours per week for the Orange County Central Library. They did so by drawing on the discretionary fund built into the budget.
While the commissioners all agreed they wanted to allocate more money to the schools, some were unsure of where to find the funds and were hesitant to increase funding to unsustainable levels.
“I am concerned,†Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said. “The more we increase the funding this year, the greater the shortfall we are going to have next year.â€
“I don’t want to raise expectations too high and have to come back next year with a significant tax increase to fund expectations or come back next year and say to the schools we are going to have to decrease per-pupil spending,†Yuhasz said.
Commissioner Valerie Foushee agreed, cautioning the board that increased levels of funding might not be sustainable without a property-tax increase, something the county hasn’t seen in four years.
At a previous public hearing on the budget, residents from both the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools District and the Orange County Schools District said they would rather see an tax increase than underfunded schools.
County Manager Frank Clifton told the board on Tuesday that next year they could be looking at a 3-cent tax increase to keep education funding at the same level.
However, Commissioner Barry Jacobs referenced the past when looking forward at the budget, saying that for the past four years a tax increase has been predicted, but due to conservative budget estimations it has yet to happen.
“I have seen in my time that we project the most conservative and intimidating scenarios in the budget discussions,†Jacobs said, “and then we do better.â€
The board agreed to pull an additional $250,000 from the county’s fund balance – the county’s savings account – to add to money from the county’s discretionary fund to give to the schools, increasing school funding by $1.28 million from the manager’s original recommendation. The increase brings per-pupil funding to $3,167, an increase of $65 from 2011-12. CHCCS had requested a $67 increase, while Orange County Schools had requested a $220 increase.
“We have the highest fund balance in the history of the Orange County budget and we have a legislature that is attacking public education,†Jacobs said. “If this isn’t a crisis – and our rainy-day fund isn’t to be used in a time like know – I really don’t know what is.â€
The board is scheduled to vote to adopt the budget on Tuesday.