On Thursday, June 17, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a budget that will direct how taxpayer dollars are spent from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.
The new budget, which keeps the county’s property tax rate even at 0.7305 cents per $100 of assessed property value, was agreed to by the board’s seven Democratic commissioners and two Republicans.
Guilford County Schools officials were asking for the moon this year and, while they didn’t get everything they wanted, they should be happy with the stratospheric amount of county funding included the new budget. School advocates worked hard before the 2021 November election to get a Democratic majority on the board that would be friendly to the schools – and the new fiscal 2021-2022 budget includes nearly $230 million for school operating and capital needs.
Guilford County Manager Mike Halford’s recommended budget presented in May had included $13.4 million in additional school funding this year – the biggest increase in two decades – and the Board of Commissioners final budget tacked an extra $3.5 million onto that number before the budget passed. The additional allocation was meant to increase teacher pay, increase teacher supplements and allow for a minimum wage of $15 per hour for school cafeteria workers.
Before the commissioners adopted the final budget they made other changes as well such as adding money for the county’s two Family Justice Centers and adding just over $1 million for 15 new school nurse positions. The commissioners also added nearly a half-million dollars more than the manager’s budget did for fighting infant mortality. The final 2021-2022 budget includes $800,000 for that purpose.
The board’s two Republican commissioners – Justin Conrad and Alan Perdue – both voted for the new budget, however, both men stated at the meeting that any county budget includes some things they agree with and some they do not. They each said the budget being adopted that night included enough positives to outweigh the negatives and therefore win their vote.
Increasing teacher supplements = increasing teacher pay. They’re the same thing. Most of their salary is paid by the state. The supplements are extra income done to recruit teachers into their districts from others in the state.
From what I’ve heard Guilford raised theirs because Forsyth did, or was in the process of doing, this.
OK,wonderful-now tell us- when will the students be safe from outside attacks in this Democrat controlled educational Nirvana?
What outside attacks are the ‘Evil Boogy Boogy Democrats’ doing jimMy? Inform us before you put your fear mongering tinfoil hat back on.
Chris-you dont know about the group that recently forced their way into a school and beat up a student?
Where has the effort to protect students and where is it now?No need for fear mongering-just keep the administration we have-there will be plenty of fear to go around.
What do you want to do? Change the world for a situation so unique it made national news? Someone let them in through a side door? What is your proposal? Armed guards at every door? Get real.
Chris you sound like a crying liberal moron
The most incompetent education system in the G7 consumes by far the most money per student.
It’s time to break up the Government School monopoly.
40 years ago a Forbes reporter studied the New York City school system flow of money. She found that 1/3rd of the money went to the teachers/classroom, 1/3rd went into school administration, and 1/3rd into a building in Brooklyn that housed the central administration. I expect that that is true in GCS. We spend $12k/year per student. If there are 20 students in a classroom, that’s $240/year. Teachers should be asking why they get less a third of that. . .
This paper used to publish K-12 salaries annually; as I recall, there were over 100 administrators before you got to the first teacher. I think every administrator who has a degree in education, especially if it is a Ph.D., should be required to teach in a live classroom at least 10 hours a week.
What’s wrong with you don’t you know that would be beneath their dignity The very idea
District Admin is approx. 10% of total operating spend (excluding capital spend). Another 10% is school staff support (principle, front desk staff, etc…). 19% is transportation and cafeteria costs. Any 61% is actual classroom spend.
The problem is administration costs.
The problem is the quality of the programs as managed by the Administration. The idea of equality of education seems to be believed to be ‘The Same’ education for ALL students. This is the flaw…students who have strong parental support versus those that have limited to no parental support need different approaches to education. Those kids with behavioral issues need a different educational approach than those that don’t have behavioral issues.
Equality does NOT equal = same. All that does is leave you will a lower common denominator and lower overall educational performance. This isn’t about race. This issue exists at schools that are majority white just as it does at schools that are majority minority students.
Add onto this a teachers union that doesn’t believe in terminating underperforming teachers and there ya go. A below average education all in the name of equality.
So, Chris,
What would have to be done to solve the problem?We are all eyes and ears.
JimMy that’s not all you are you sound like a crying liberal moron
Great, then we can have 200 administrators doing the job of 50 teachers.
Any money for security?
Hold your breath
Miller,
evidently there has been money for security-it just was not spent.I guess that could lead to insecurity.
And there’s not been an accounting of where that 10 MiLLION is
It is not in your pocket, or mine.