Wake County School Board to review budget plan, faces tough cuts
WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County School Board is meeting on Tuesday to preview Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor's budget proposal for the next school year.
Wake County Public Schools is preparing to make some tough choices with a budget on the horizon and the state still without its own budget.
Hearing that special education services funding may need to be cut was a gut punch for some parents.
"Right now, my son has a one-on-one who goes with him class to class and helps him regulate and understand his day, and sometimes just helps him understand what the directions are saying for his brain," said Susan Book, the parent of a child with special needs. "It's a godsend. He no longer has outbursts in the classroom because he has someone helping him throughout his day."
Book said she was proud of her 10th-grader, who is now just two years from graduating after a long journey. She said the support he has gotten for special education opened doors.
As it stands, the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) was already pushing for more funding for special education, including more behavioral support staff and reducing caseloads.
"Caseload is way too high," said Anna Grant, a pre-kindergarten instructional assistant. "And so, we've been asking for more support for special ed students, which ultimately positively impacts the whole entire system. And we're being told that we're going to have less. And it's, it's quite devastating."
WCPSS said that without a budget from the state, it limits what the district can do. It's asking for $25 million from the county in the meantime, but that also may not be enough.
The official budget will be presented in early April
The Wake County Public School System shared its fiscal year 2027-33 Capital Improvement Program during a meeting on March 10.
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WCPSS Chief of Facilities and Operations Mark Strickland told ABC11 on Wednesday that consistent growth and public school popularity are driving changes in the district.
"We need to combine that growth rate with the age of our buildings as we plan additions, renovations, and new schools," he said. "That growth component translates for us into facilities and new schools."
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