There’s no question that the current Guilford County Board of Commissioners supports the Guilford County school system to a great extent.
But the board has also been good over the years to Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) – and that sentiment continues in Guilford County Manager Mike Halford’s proposed budget.
The new budget recommended by Halford has yet to be adopted; however, the “manager’s budget,” as it’s called, acts as a rough draft for the final county budget, and Halford’s giant proposed everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink budget this year hasn’t forgotten about giving a little something extra to Guilford County Community College.
In all, the county manager’s budget would mean nearly $20 million for GTCC for fiscal 2022-2023 – $19,657,500 to be exact. That represents a 9 percent increase over the amount of funds the county provided the community college in the 2021-2022 budget that expires on June 30.
Over the last two years, the community college has received a tremendous amount of funding through federal stimulus packages, and the school now has so much money on hand that it’s done away with student fees and started providing some astounding benefits such as paying car repair and childcare bills when that’s necessary for students to attend the community college.
The recommended budget increases the operating and capital allocation from the county to GTCC by $1.6 million over the money provided last June. This includes an increase of $600,000 in operating funds – for a total of $18,107,500 – to support pay increases and regular operating expenses like utilities, insurance, computer equipment, etc.
The proposed budget also recommends an additional $1million in capital maintenance for the college in the coming fiscal year.
The money for repayment of existing debt on previously issued GTCC bonds increases by about $600,000 in Halford’s proposed budget.
When will taxpayers push back on Government waste. This budget is a prime example, crazy.
GTCC got so much money they gave all the students checks.
Correct. If you took a continuing education class they gave you $250. So if you took a class for your job (example: police officers and firemen) they cut you a check. Maybe that money should be seized by the feds and redistributed to keep schools safe.