School board for NC largest district weighs cuts to meet state pay mandates in Wake County

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County school board is preparing to vote Tuesday night on budget cuts aimed at closing a funding gap created by new state-mandated salary increases and bonuses.

Board Chair Tyler Swanson said the district faces difficult choices as it works to comply with requirements in the recently passed state budget and the money allocated from the state.

Swanson said in an interview that "this budget is in fact a tough budget and I think next year's budget will be even tighter."

The district says staff bonuses will require an additional $3.1 million in local funding, while mandated compensation increases for certified staff will add $13.7 million in costs. A board committee spent hours Tuesday afternoon debating potential reductions, including lowering teacher supplements and scaling back the district's ReStart program.

Swanson said the proposed cuts raise concerns about classroom impact. "This does give me a lot of concerns about what do we do to ensure that there is not a lot of harm taking place in the classroom," he said.

Under the state budget, school districts must provide an average 8% salary raise for teachers and instructional support staff, along with a 3% increase for central office and noncertified employees.

Wake County NCAE President Anna Grant said educators are eager to see the raises implemented. "Educators can not see these raises soon enough," she said.

Grant criticized the lack of transparency during the state budget process, saying districts were forced to anticipate major financial obligations without clear guidance. "School district staff had to guess what was going to be in the state budget. There was not a lot of transparency. There was a lot of backdoor, closed-door," she said.

Wake County is required by law to distribute the bonuses by October, adding urgency to the board's vote on Tuesday night. The district has not yet detailed which cuts may be approved.