Deadline looming for Wake County School Board

WAKE COUNTY (WTVD) -- The deadline for members of the Wake County School Board to approve a final budget and close a $17.5 million spending gap is looming.

The school board is meeting Tuesday night to discuss what decision they'll make and the cuts proposed so far.

The Wake County Public School System says the cuts won't impact teacher pay raises included in the state budget, and that there won't be any layoffs.

However, the cuts could certainly impact children.

Here are some of the recommended cuts:

-reducing the transportation budget

-reducing custodial services by one day a week

-freezing or postponing vacancies

-adjusting teacher funding allotments for elementary and middle schools

Despite necessary cuts, administrators have proposed giving a pay raise to support staff.

Contributing to the budget shortfall is the large bump in teacher salaries from the state budget and the school system is getting nearly $12 million less from the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

Last month, Wake County School Board members were presented with recommendations to offset that $17.5 million budget gap.

RELATED: Wake County schools look to fill gap left by budget shortfall

The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Wake County School Board headquarters.

RELATED: Wake Schools makes case for larger cut of county budget