By Trent Moore
Staff Writer
Due to the sluggish economy, massive statewide education budget cuts have been announced that will greatly affect both the Cullman County Board of Education and Cullman City Schools.
At a Monday afternoon press conference, Gov. Bob Riley officially declared state education budget proration, in the amount of 12.5 percent. According to the Associated Press, the rate is higher than many education officials had expected, as most were anticipating an approximate 7 percent cut.
Riley said he will use $218 million — half of the $437 million Rainy Day Fund — to lessen the cuts to 9 percent. The fund was made available with the passage of Amendment 1 in the most recent state election.
Cullman County Board of Education Superintendent Hank Allen said the cuts will be difficult for the county system to bear.
“Nine percent is considerably more than we anticipated,” he said of the cut. “It will impact us significantly.”
Allen said he and the school board will have to take time to consider all of the options to cover the shortfall, which will be more than the system’s barely one-month fund reserve can absorb.
“It will take time, and there will be certain conditions and guidelines that we will have to follow from the state superintendent’s office,” he said. “As that information becomes available, we’ll outline that in a financial meeting and directly address the numbers we’ve been given.”
Allen said he and the school board should have a better understanding of what cuts will have to be made early next year.
“We should know more by the end of January, or mid-February,” he said.
When asked what measures are being considered to absorb the cuts — such as potential staff layoffs — Allen declined to elaborate.
“I won’t speak to anything specifically right now,” he said. “I think it would be a bit premature and unfair to those it might involve.”
Exactly how much money the 9 percent cut will take from the county system has yet to be tallied, though Allen noted, “it is a considerable amount — we’re talking in the millions (of dollars).”
For the Cullman City Schools system, the 9 percent cut will take away approximately $1.12 million.
Dr. Jan Harris, superintendent of the city system, said she and the board do not currently anticipate laying off any employees because of the cut.
“At this point, we are not planning to lay off any teachers,” she said.
To help conserve, Harris said future positions vacated by attrition will likely not be filled.
“We will try to capitalize on retirements and resignations, and just try to make due,” she said. “There are so many variables with budgeting, but at this point we do not plan on laying off teachers or employees. ... People are more important than any project.”
The system had saved approximately $500,000 from the previous budget year, Harris said, which should help absorb a portion of the prorated cuts.
“When we ended the year, we were able to tuck away $507,000 surplus from the previous budget,” she said. “So, there will be about $600,000 we will have to come up with.”
The budget cuts could also be covered by the system’s reserve funds, which total more than three month’s operating expenses — more than double the amount required by the state.
Harris said it is too early to predict in detail what affects the cuts will have, though she said minor sacrifices will likely be made in many departments.
“We’ll be frugal with our fiscal spending, make cuts, but still maintain,” she said. “I’ll be able to tell you more later, but now we’ll reduce spending somewhat in all departments to make up. We’ll definitely make adjustments and be frugal like everyone else, just get through this together.”
The cutbacks have already taken a toll on capital projects — such as the proposed Cullman High School practice gym, Harris added.
“It has already had an affect on that (capital projects),” Harris said. “We would have already put that out to bid (the gym), if it were not an issue. I’m thankful we’ve held back.”
If it were not for the half-cent sales tax from the city of Cullman to support the system, Harris said the situation would be much more dire.
“We would be in a very bad situation without that half-cent sales tax,” she said. “It’s because of the half-cent sales tax that we will not be laying anyone off.”
During the announcement, Riley said the statewide cuts were caused by a drop in state tax collections, which is leading to lower revenues for the state.
“Because of the national economy’s slowdown, if we remain on our current course Alabama would finish this fiscal year with a budget deficit,” he said. “That is unacceptable, not only because the state has a legal obligation to operate with a balanced budget, we also have a moral obligation to put Alabama’s fiscal house in order. ... The nation’s economy is in a volatile state and will likely remain so for some time. That’s why we will continually monitor economic conditions and will take further action to control spending to achieve a balanced budget.”
It was also announced by Riley that the remaining half of the Rainy Day Fund will be distributed throughout the upcoming fiscal year.
“The second half of the Rainy Day Fund will be distributed during the remainder of the fiscal year,” he said. “Based on all the economic forecasts I have I believe this is the wisest course of action. Doing this allows us to responsibly manage the disbursement of the Rainy Day Fund and also meet the needs of our schools.”
This 12.9 percent cut in the fiscal 2009 budget will be the largest since education spending was prorated 14.1 percent in fiscal 1961. Since then, the biggest proration has been 6.5 percent in fiscal 1991.
‰ The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‰ Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.
