Wake County school board passes budget with $10M in budget cuts
CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County Board of Education passed a budget Tuesday night that includes more than $10 million in proposed cuts.
School district leaders said that, between a lack of funding from the state and tough choices at the county level, they managed to work with every dollar they could to keep the focus on the classroom..
The budget with the hefty cuts passed by a 7-2 vote, but school leaders made it clear this was not the outcome they wanted.
"So until the state chooses to do their constitutional duties and invest in public education as it's laid out in the Constitution, local boards, primarily public school boards of education, will have to keep making these difficult decisions," said Tyler Swanson, Wake County School Board Chair.
But board members reluctantly agreed to the cuts, because, they said, the county, despite its own budget issues, stepped up with $25 million to help the school system.
"I have never had a budget where I did not have to cut, and so to know that the board recognizes that and how difficult it is, but that is not something that board should have to do," said WCPSS Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor.
Those difficult decisions included positions such as literacy coaches, assistant principal positions, and some support staff.
Cuts that were too much for some board members to stomach.
Meanwhile, parents and educators press district leaders for clarity on how the reductions would affect students and staffers.
The proposal introduced by Taylor was intended to close a budget shortfall. District officials said none of the cuts would come from special education after backlash from the community forced Taylor to abandon an initial plan that included eliminating 130 special education teaching positions.
Before the vote, parents said they wanted more specific numbers and details to better understand the effect on schools.
"Right now it's been a lot of propositions without a lot of details," said Susan Book, a Wake County Schools parent.
Book said protecting students with the greatest needs should remain the district's top priority as board members look elsewhere for savings.
"Are you protecting our most vulnerable students? That should be your priority. And that's what I want to see out of this budget," she said.
The Wake County chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) said uncertainty around the plan has left teachers concerned about staffing and classroom support next school year.
"Regardless of where those $10 million in cuts are, I think staff are really anticipating what that impact will look like in schools and classrooms," said Christina Cole, president of Wake NCAE.
Those concerns come after educators met with state lawmakers Friday to urge greater investment in public education. Cole said many teachers left those meetings ready to push for additional action.
"Folks have been asking since Friday, like, what's next? What are we doing? Folks, I think, left Friday ready to, to take some action," she said.
Book was among thousands across North Carolina who took part in a rally and march on Friday outside the state legislature, calling for increased public education funding. She said the continued budget struggles feel unchanged over time.
"At the march in 2018, my son was in second grade, and now he's a high schooler, and we're still shouting and advocating for the same things that we were in 2018," Book said.
