School board bristles at governor’s reductions

The county school board got word Tuesday night that Sonny Perdue will call for a two percent reduction in grants for K-12 this year.

Madison County stands to lose out on $565,000 — or 16.67 percent — of its state funding with this latest cost-cutting measure.

“I know that local folks don’t want to hear it, but the truth of the matter is that the state is continuing to short-change us … We’re getting squeezed very tightly by the state,” superintendent Dr. Mitch McGhee said.

According to official word from the state, the cuts are being made to compensate for severe reductions in state revenue.

Areas in education being hit by the cuts are equalization, Pre-K and handicapped, pupil transportation, QBE (the overall funding formula), school nursing and tuition for the multi-handicapped.

Hitting Madison County the hardest are the cuts in equalization, funds that low wealth school districts rely on.

“We get a huge chunk of equalization because we’re so tax poor,” McGhee said. “That two percent hits us harder than it hits most folks.”

In fact, Madison County schools stand to lose the most in the area, followed closely by Elbert County, which will lose 16 percent of its state funding. Oglethorpe County will miss out on 12 percent.

Wealthier systems like Jackson, Hart and Oconee counties — who don’t get equalization — will only lose out on two percent of state funding.

“You’re going to hit your poorer systems the hardest and take money away from those who can least afford it,” McGhee said.

It only gets worse next year as Perdue calls for a three percent reduction in 2010.

“This next year is going to be tough and then in 2010 it’s not going to get any easier,” McGhee said.

This latest news came after a recent ruling in a Fulton County court that state schools could go forth with legal action against the state.
Madison County is part of a 50-school consortium that contends that the state doesn’t adequately fund schools.

The withdrawal of state funding for education has become increasingly frustrating for school leaders locally.

Combined with what Madison County was already lacking through austerity cuts, the system is nearing a $900,000 shortfall in funds it’s entitled to through the state’s funding equation.

Softening the blow of this latest news was word that Madison County spent less this past fiscal year than expected, giving the system reserve funds — a little over $500,000 unofficially — that could likely help cover money that the cuts remove.

“The board has been very frugal and responsible with the money and the finances and our staff has here, too, and I’m hoping it’s going to pay off for us now,” McGhee said.

The system won’t know exactly its financial picture until it receives the county tax digest. School leaders can’t set the millage rate until they have those figures.