Superintendent's Budget Protects Classrooms, Boosts Programs at Small Schools
March 15, 2011 -- Wake County Public School System Superintendent Tony Tata today presented his 2011-12 budget recommendation to the Board of Education. The $1.25 billion recommended budget will:
- maintain all student teacher ratios at current levels;
- reduce class sizes in grades 4-5;
- increase support for up to five small, under-utilized, and/or declining enrollment elementary schools, including Hilburn Drive, Jeffreys Grove and Root Elementary schools (Two others may be named when further enrollment calculations are completed.);
- create the opportunity for up to 10 schools to introduce intensive international studies and technology programs;
- ensure foreign language at all middle schools;
- maintain the 26 Pre-K classrooms that have been ARRA funded for the past two years; and
- expand alternative learning program seats to 2,106 from 1,346.
"This will be an extremely difficult budget year, but our top priorities must be to protect the classroom, strategically position all of our schools to be in high demand, and operate the system as efficiently as possible," Tata said. "We had to make some tough budget decisions based on the information we had with the level of state funding still in question."
Tata, reiterating his support for teachers, called for a $500 bonus for all full-time teachers with a pro-rated bonus for part-time teachers using one-time, non-recurring funds. Funding for this bonus comes from $2.8 million in fines and forfeitures, along with other non-recurring funds included in the current budget.
"I want to recognize the hard work and dedication our teachers demonstrate every day for the children of this county," Tata said. "Our reason for being here is to support the work that is going on in the classroom. I wanted to give teachers a well deserved pay increase, but this is one small way of saying thank you."
The budget recommendation also includes proposals from the state to eliminate one support position in every school, and reduce assistant principal months of employment. The budget plan also calls for the elimination of 46 positions in Wake County's Central Services operations.
The Wake County Public School System is expecting more than 3,300 additional students next year and will open two new schools. Walnut Creek Elementary School will open in Southeast Raleigh, and the Wake NC State University STEM Early College will open on or near the campus of NC State University.
The entire 2011-12 budget proposal is available online for review.