Wayne County Public Schools funding proposal announced
By Steve Herring
Published in News on May 25, 2018 5:50 AM
Wayne County's $192,291,163 overall budget proposal includes more than $21 million for current expenses and $2 million for capital improvements for Wayne County Public Schools.
County Manager Craig Honeycutt on Thursday released the proposed public schools funding for fiscal year 2018-19, and included capital improvement project spending for the previous four years.
"I think it's important to put this information out to the public, especially with a proposed increase in the tax rate," Honeycutt said.
The current expense total includes $836,637 to help offset the loss of state low-wealth funding and $500,000 to provide half of a percent increase in the local teacher supplement.
Not included in the $21 million is an additional $303,215 specifically appropriated for additional school resource officers, more than doubling the current $221,639 appropriated in 2018.
Those expenses, along with adding eight more classrooms to the Meadow Lane project has Wayne County commissioners considering a 2.65-cent increase in the tax rate.
If approved, the tax rate would increase from 66.35 to 69 cents per $100 worth of appraised value, effective July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
Commissioners have said the 69-cent tax rate should put the county at or above the threshold to be eligible for low-wealth funding.
The county lost nearly $2 million annually in low-wealth funding two years ago because tax cuts put the tax rate below the state formula threshold.
Rep. John Bell of Goldsboro was able to secure $2 million in the current year, but not for next year.
Commission Chairman Bill Pate, Vice chairman Commissioner Joe Gurley and Honeycutt met earlier this month with Bell and Rep. Linda Johnson of Annapolis, one of the House appropriations chairs.
Johnson was able to make adjustments to the formula calculations for a total of more than $1.1 million, but still leaving the county with a shortfall that commissioners agreed to cover.
The total amount allocated for fiscal year 2019 is $21,172,216, with an additional $2 million for smaller capital outlay projects.
The school board had requested $21,192,216 in current expenses.
However, Honeycutt is recommending that $20,000 be cut from the $190,000 sought for the Wayne Initiative for School Health Centers (WISH) program. That would leave WISH funding at $170,000, the same as this year.
Since 2015, commissioners have appropriated more than $88 million in capital improvements, of which $7.8 million has been allocated for specific projects not yet begun by the school board, Honeycutt said.
The county also will spend $6,213,839 this year on debt service for the capital improvements for the schools, he said.
The current expenditures funding for each of the previous four years was as follows:
• 2015: $19,149,728.
• 2016: $19,369,728.
• 2017: $20,357,123 (includes one-time appropriation of $600,000 for additional technology.)
• 2018: $20,157,552.