The Commerce City School System has finalized its budget, but that doesn’t mean spending for the 2008-09 school year is set in stone.
Far from it. With a state in a fiscal crisis and Gov. Sonny Perdue calling for budget cuts in numerous areas, the man who is responsible for making it all work is still sweating.
Perdue has called for cuts in K-12 spending of two percent in the current fiscal year and three percent in the next. In addition, he wants to eliminate the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant, much of which goes to school systems.
“Needless to say, we’re still fighting a moving target,” commented James E. “Mac” McCoy, superintendent of the Commerce system.
The two-percent/three-percent cuts are the “latest we’ve got,” McCoy said. They just happen to come on top of an austerity cut that has already cost the system $250,000.
“Add all that together and you’ve got trouble,” he said.
The Commerce Board of Education is fortunate to have a $1.5 million fund balance (reserves) at present. Based on just the “austerity” reduction, the current budget projects having reserves of $738,000 at the end of the year.
“With a kind of foresight, we cut a little bit more than the two percent, not knowing what to cut,” said McCoy.
If the further cuts occur, it’ll take a lot more cutting — more than some school systems can handle, according to McCoy.
For the full story, see the Aug. 20 edition of The Commerce News.
Tell me too. How was it they were going to save $20 million on an $18 million project?
I don't have a dog in this fight, my kid goes to East Jackson and I went to Jackson County. I stay very, VERY far away from Commerce BOE and city council issues. And, BTW, I can count the difference between 20 and 18. lol