Wake school board ‘pleads’ for commissioners to add $63.2 million more in budget
Wake County school leaders want a record $63.2 million increase in local funding at the same time that homeowners are bracing for higher property taxes after the recent property revaluation.
School board members unanimously approved a budget Tuesday that they say is needed to meet state-mandated cost increases, deal with the loss of one-time federal COVID aid and increase the amount of pay raises to employees. The budget now goes to the Wake County Board of Commissioners. County Manager David Ellis has proposed a smaller recommendation: a funding increase of $49 million.
“I will just plead to the Wake County Commissioners that we really do need the full $63.2 million,” said school board member Sam Hershey. “This is about the livelihood of our staff We have to remember that. We know it’s a big ask, but these are your constituents.”
The school board also approved Tuesday hiring outside companies to do an organizational study of Central Office staffing levels and a market study of school employee salaries.
The school board has an overall operating budget of $2.2 billion.
Pay raises and flag football
The funding approved Tuesday is higher than the initial budget proposed by Wake County Superintendent Robert Taylor in March. Then, he asked commissioners for a $58.3 million increase in local funding.
But some said it wasn’t enough to increase salaries. The Wake County chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators held rallies before the start of classes last Tuesday to urge the school board to increase the raises in the budget.
Taylor’s budget includes the state’s expected 3% raise this year for teachers and other school employees.
And the school board revised the budget on Tuesday to provide teachers with a 4% increase in the local salary supplement. Bus drivers would get a higher minimum salary of $20 per hour. Other non-certified staff, such as cafeteria workers and teacher assistants, will get a minimum salary of $17.75 or a 4% raise, whichever is higher.
Wake NCAE president Christina Spears told the school board on Tuesday that they will lobby commissioners to fully fund the budget request.
The board also restored funding to continue women’s flag football.
“No matter if it was pay for bus drivers or flag football, we found a way to put our concerns into the proposal,” school board chair Chris Heagarty said Tuesday.
The board made changes such as removing a $25 cut to the high school student parking fee, eliminating three new human resources positions and cutting funding to pay employees to watch students who are on campus due to bus delays.
The board made a net change of adding $4.9 million to the requested increase in funding. The school board now wants commissioners to provide a 10% increase in county funding to $707.5 million next school year.
How much will commissioners provide?
The all-Democratic Board of Commissioners has historically been supportive of funding increases. Since the 2017-18 school year, local funding has risen by 49.5%, or an increase of more than $213 million a year.
Ellis released a draft spending plan on Monday that recommends lowering the county’s property tax rate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a tax break for Wake County residents, The News & Observer previously reported.
Ellis recommended a new property tax rate that would provide more revenue than the current tax rate. This means, depending on how much a person’s home value went up in the reassessment that they could see a larger tax bill.
Fully funding the $14 million gap between what Ellis and the school board have proposed would likely increase property taxes on residents even more.
A joint virtual meeting on Thursday between the school board and commissioners was canceled. Commissioners will vote on the budget on June 3.
School board member Lynn Edmonds said the budget request is timely. It’s during Teacher Appreciation Week.
“Our job is to advocate for what our teachers and students need, and I believe that’s what we’re doing here,” Edmonds said. “This budget is a representation of our values. ... This budget communicates our district’s needs to the public, to the business community and to the community at large, and not just to the commissioners.”
School board blames the state
Multiple school board members blamed the large funding increase on the General Assembly not providing enough money for public schools.
“I understand that this might be a tax burden to the community,” said school board member Tyler Swanson. “But when we have a legislative body who is not necessarily fulfilling their duties and not necessarily prioritizing our schools and especially our teachers.”
Hershey, the board member, said residents of Wake County will stand with the school system.
“I believe that the residents of Wake County understand that and will overwhelmingly support you funding the full request that we are making because they understand .... that the state is failing our schools by not increasing salaries for our staff,” Hershey said.
