Clyde Locklear, assistant superintendent of finance/facilities, distributes his final budget to board member Carol Worley Tuesday night. Also pictured is the entire Clinton City Board of Education.(Photo by Doug Clark)
In fact, it was unanimously approved to the tune of $28,297,724.
The fiscal plan also includes an appropriation of $285,080 in fund balance to cover possible costs for the roof and air conditioning at Sunset Avenue School, if that is the direction the board opts to go. A final decision has not been reached on that issue.
“That number is for any additional costs that may be incurred from these projects, if that is what the board wants to do,” said Clyde Locklear, assistant superintendent of finance/facilities. “There is also enough to cover some furniture and also paying for (school) vehicle leases — it is all at the discretion of the board, but it is in there as requested.”
During a meeting last week, school board members voted to have Locklear appropriate “at least” $250,000 to cover the costs of a new roof at Sunset Avenue School, however, the discussion became heated when some board members suggested doing both the air conditioner and roof at the same time. Locklear was asked to bring estimates back to the board, something he feels will be presented at next month’s meeting.
“I am making contacts this week,” he said. “I am talking with some of the engineers that recently worked on a few Duplin County Schools projects ... but it takes time to get them here. I will continue to work on it and most likely present some numbers to the board at the September meeting.”
Locklear told the board Tuesday night that because of the economy and state budget cuts, the 2010-11 budget reflected a reduction of about 3.7 percent from last year.
“We did experience some reduction (from the state), but not nearly as much as we were expecting at one time,” he said, adding, “There are no pay raises for our employees for the second straight year.”
Not helping the financial picture is that the school system is down in the number of students — by about 40 students who transfer into Clinton City each year, a revenue loss of over $200,000, Locklear said. That loss comes from $5,000 per student in state funding and another $817 per student that the county funds.
The system is expecting 3,061 students this year.
“In this budget, like every year, we identify and focus on three subjects before we do anything else — curriculum and instruction; the children and our employees,” Locklear said. “Instruction is a key thing that we were focused on, and our goal is to ensure that we are continually improving instruction. Our children have always been a primary interest when we are making this budget and also our employees. We try to keep all that we can.”
As of Tuesday night, Clinton City Schools is down by just five teachers, one having been cut from each school. Currently, they are expecting 406 permanent returning employees; that does not include bus drivers and teaching assistants.
After a brief description of the budget, Locklear asked for approval so it could, in turn, be submitted to the county commissioners for their OK.
“Any questions?” he said before making the request to approve.
There were no comments or questions from the board.
“This is the official budget document for the year,” Locklear said. “We ask for your approval ...”
Board member E.R. Mason made the motion to approve, Diane Viser seconded and it passed unanimously.
The board is expected to hear from Locklear at next month’s meeting, slated for Sept. 7, regarding the costs for a revamp to the Sunset gym.
To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or send e-mail to sisports@heartlandpublications.com.
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