Local schools are feeling the squeeze of the $1 billion state budget shortfall projected for next year. Cuts will take place at all levels of the educational system--from the potential elimination of a kindergarten breakfast program to the eradication of some programs at local colleges and universities.
In the wake of the most recent round of budget cuts, Gov. Mike Easley sent a letter last Thursday to North Carolina's 16 public universities, assuring the institutions' chancellors they would be spared the worst of the cuts.
But administrators at North Carolina Central University said any decreases in funding will be very challenging, with 83 percent of the school's budget in salaries and few vacant positions to absorb the cuts.
Sharon Saunders, NCCU special assistant to the chancellor, said funding cuts are always difficult. "[They are] even more so at a historically black university where our funding is not as lucrative," she added. "Every dollar that we gets really counts and is really needed."
At the precollege level, the state public school fund faces a 2 percent cut, said Hank Hurd, associate superintendent for finance.
The Department of Public Instruction is looking to make reductions that do not impact the classroom, Hurd said, but, as in the case of NCCU, the vast majority of the state public school fund is in salaries. Primary measures include delaying the purchase of replacement school buses for another year and eliminating the school breakfast program for kindergartners with wealthier parents.
But these changes would not account for the full $120 million that must be cut. The remainder--$82 million--would be made up through measures specific to each school district and would be at the discretion of local superintendents, Hurd said.
The Durham public schools will have to absorb a significant amount of cuts. Although funding will stay the same at the local level, the district is facing $3 million in additional costs, said school board chair Kathryn Meyers.
The public schools are committed to maintaining the level of funding at classroom levels and, therefore, are looking mainly at administrative costs, she said.
The board is currently evaluating specific programs such as lab schools, the magnet curriculum and the district-wide reading initiative.
"It's an opportunity to take a fresh look at some things," Meyers said. "Maybe belt-tightening can be positive if... we can protect the classroom."
But she admitted this may not be possible.
"This is going to get worse before it gets better over the next few years," she said. "This isn't a one-time crisis."
The pinch will also be felt at Durham Technical Community College. The school has been asked to identify cuts ranging from 4 percent to 11 percent.
"Even in the best-case scenario, we feel that it's going to be a very hard year," said Vice President for Institutional Support Services Wanda Winslow, as the cuts come on top of a decrease of nearly 3 percent for the current year.
Winslow said the biggest impact will be in flexibility of the courses that Durham Tech offers.
"The largest percentage of [students] are working either full or part time," she said. "They're needing flexibility."
Earlier this month, Easley asked state department heads to identify cuts up to 11 percent in order to cope with next year's projected shortfall. In his letter to the public universities, he said he would not recommend that they cut their funding by the same levels.
The state public instruction department is also facing internal cuts of 7 to 11 percent, which will impact local school districts because the department provides services such as delivering financial and testing information to the General Assembly.
"A cut of that magnitude has a huge impact on our ability to service our stakeholders," Hurd said.
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