The Putnam County School Board introduced the first draft of next school year’s budget to the County Commissioners in a joint workshop Monday evening.
Director Of Schools Corby King presented the budget which features a $5.2 million gap. County Commission Chair Chris Cassetty said inflation makes the budget discussions even more challenging.
“The cost of everything has gone up, and so, you know, as the old saying goes, you’ve got to tighten your belt,” Cassetty said. “Our department heads and our elected officials do a good job of that. And I think our school system does a good job at that, but sometimes, you can still do all of that and still have some money that you still need to make up somewhere.”
King said some spending cuts have already been made to the maintenance, fuel costs, and eight vacated teaching positions. Cassetty said the Commissioners face their own budget gap, but he wants to find a solution.
“It’s a process every year, and we’ll work through that process and hopefully, we’ll be able to come to a good outcome,” Cassetty said. “As was said [Monday] in the meeting, we’re proud of our school system. We want our school system to do well, so hopefully we’ll be able to come to a good outcome.”
King and school board chair Lynn McHenry both spoke on the TISA formula. Much of this year’s increase will go to state-mandated staff wage increases.
King said some of the planned maintenance projects will need to be pushed into future school years.
Cassetty said the line of communication between the Commissioners and School Board is vital to the county’s success.
“[The School Board] is in charge of their own spending, but they’re not in charge of their own funding,” Cassetty said. “So it’s vitally important that we have a good working relationship. And I think the School Board, particularly, has done a really good job of trying to make sure that happens. And of course, the Commission, we want that as well.”
Members of both the School Board and County Commission addressed other topics, such as student safety and completed projects during Monday’s meeting.
