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Schools face cuts despite stimulus

By Jared Felkins
The Times-Journal

Published April 3, 2009

If Gov. Bob Riley’s proposed Education Trust Fund budget is any indication, Fort Payne City schools are facing significant cuts next year despite $1 billion being pumped into state education from the federal stimulus over the next two years.

Fort Payne superintendent Jimmy Cunningham received the news at a regional meeting Thursday in Cullman. He said according to the proposed budget, three state-funded teachers will have to be cut instead of gaining one teacher due to enrollment increases.

“We are, in essence, losing funding for four teachers,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham said that’s in addition to considering cuts in locally funded teachers of which Fort Payne schools currently have six employed.

“What I am doing now is look at what the stimulus will do for teachers,” Cunningham said. “The Legislature hasn’t met on the governor’s proposed budget. I am still anxiously awaiting a state education budget.”

But Cunningham said the cuts would have been much worse if it hadn’t been for the stimulus, which will save about 3,500 teachers jobs statewide.

“It’s going to be difficult to make a budget, but it’s not going to be as difficult because there is about $700,000 in stimulus money to work with,” Cunningham said.

In addition to salaries, Cunningham said the governor’s proposed budget includes depleting line items, such as technology, library enhancement, professional development and funding for copy paper and copier leases, to zero for the upcoming school year.

Funding for textbooks are also decreased from $57.50 per student this year to $17 per student and instructional materials for teachers from $525 per teacher to $400.

“What we are doing is evaluating everything we are doing,” Cunningham said. “What we don’t want to do next year is back up. We want to continue to fund things, and we will use local funds as long as they are available.”

In transportation, Cunningham said the proposed budget includes a nearly $72,000 cut in operations and about $20,000 in cuts to fleet renewal – a fund used to maintain current and buy new buses. On Monday, Cunningham said he plans to recommend the Fort Payne City school board buy two new air-conditioned buses, one of which will be state funded and the other paid for with local funds.

“You can’t get your fleet deplete to the point where you have to get an enormous amount of buses all in one year,” Cunningham said.

He also said the proposed budget outlines about a $400,000 cut in salaries for support staff and money to pay utility bills.

“To meet those requirements, of course it will take more local money,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham said currently Fort Payne schools have about $6 million on hand in reserve funds. He expects that amount to be about $4.5 million by Sept. 30 or the end of the current school year and about $2.5 million at the end of the upcoming school year.

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