Guilford County Schools 2011-12 Budget Updates

At its meeting on July 28, 2011, the Guilford County Board of Education voted to adopt a 2011-12 budget resolution in the amount of $659,554,304.

Of that, $370,583,259 was appropriated by the state, and $183,019,973 came from local sources, including the county appropriation of $175,165,521. Federal funding represents $45,146,626 of the total resolution.

An additional $4 million was funded for capital outlay, $31,365,800 for child nutrition and $6,432,280 for After School Care Enrichment Services (ACES). The Local Special Revenue Fund includes $19,006,366.

Advance planning allowed the district to use more than $28 million in federal funds from the previous year, through School Improvement Grants, the Education Jobs Fund and Race to the Top funds. The budget includes $10,657,308.04 to be held in reserve for unexpected expenses, possible reversion in 2011-12 or to bank for 2012-13 to replace one-time dollars used to balance the 2011-12 budget.

The district had planned for a budget reduction of up to $35.6 million, but was able to reallocate approximately $4.7 million back to the schools once the final state budget was approved. These savings had been earmarked through increased class sizes and by withholding about $3 million in Weighted Student Formula dollars. The district also avoided a proposed two-day reduction in pay for GCS employees earning $35,000 or more per year.

The budget approved July 28 will support the district through June 30, 2012.