At its meeting on Wednesday, the Board of Education approved a budget in the amount of $688.3 million.

Of that, $626.5 million in federal, state and local funds is designated as the district's operating budget. The additional funds are designated for capital outlay, special revenue funds, such as pre-kindergarten funds, and enterprise funds, which are child nutrition and afterschool care enrichment services.

The budget represents a requested increase of $9.8 million from the Board of County Commissioners to support anticipated increases in sustaining operations costs and a 1 percent increase in salary for all GCS employees except Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green. If the county request is approved, it would mark the first time in three years all GCS employees have received a raise.

At the meeting, the board requested a reduction from the superintendent's original budget proposal of $37,472 , an amount equal to four months of a principal's salary at one of two new autism wings scheduled to open in fall 2013.

The budget recommendation was presented to the commissioners on Thursday. A final approved budget is expected sometime this summer.

The board also discussed potential solutions to address approximately $500,000 in uncollected funds for school meals. The board approved a motion to request that staff recommend a plan to recoup those costs at a later meeting.