The Carroll County Board of Supervisors approved a school budget Monday for Fiscal Year 2012-13 that will eliminate two bus routes and will not fill two positions because of a shortfall of $146,000.

Earlier this year, the Carroll County School Board asked for an increase in local funding of nearly $2 million. Had the county not funded that total, the school board proposed cuts that would have included the elimination of up to 40 positions and the possible closure of Gladesboro Elementary School. That didn’t happen, however, after the school board pledged to pay an additional $1.8 million above last year’s total during a heavily attended public hearing earlier in April.

Carroll County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Greg Smith addressed the board of supervisors Monday prior to the vote on the school budget. He said the original request from the school board was $11,304,898, with supervisors pledging to pay $10,826,963 in local funds at the April 9 meeting for a difference of $478,035. Smith said the school board reconciled that difference through the addition of two revenue lines – assistance with the teachers’ retirement return rate at $122,397 and the non-recurring educational assistance at $165,733, both late items that were anticipated to be funded by the state for a total of close to $288,000.

Additionally, Smith said the school board had plans to reduce two bus routes, which would be consolidated, the reduction of an additional library position that would not be filled due to attrition, and the elimination of the energy crisis coordinator for a balanced budget in the amount of $39,418,456.

However, Smith said budget numbers came back to the school board on Thursday with a shortfall of a little over $146,000 because the school system didn’t get as much as it thought from the state on the two revenue items.

“I believe we can reconcile this, but I believe we are going to need some assistance,” Smith said. “We can work within this I believe if we continue to seek savings, but the board respectfully requests from the board of supervisors that to assist us with that, that we be funded through a lump sum funding as opposed to categorical funding, which does limit some flexibility.”

Smith said the $288,000 from the state was included in the earlier version of the House budget, but didn’t come through. Carroll County Public Schools FinanceManager Tammy Quesenberry said the school system got a little more than it thought it would on the assistance to teachers’ retirement from the state, but the state didn’t fund the non-recurring expense item at all, resulting in the $146,000 shortfall.

Supervisor David Hutchins encouraged the school board to go the categorical funding route instead of the lump sum route. He noted that the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department does this as well as other county agencies, and asks for more funds throughout the year if they are needed.

Laurel Fork District Supervisor Joshua Hendrick said he still hasn’t seen any details of where the additional $1.8 million the board pledged to pay the school system would come from. He said that information would be critical to him before he could vote.

“The $1.8 {million}, we are going to try to pay some things down that would help in next year’s budget,” said Supervisor Phil McCraw, who is also on the budget committee that recommended the additional funding. “We have had a little better revenue this time and we are going to try to pay some of these things down and prep some money for next year’s budget.”

But has there been an additional $1.8 million in revenue, Hendrick asked? Board of Supervisors’ Chairman Sam Dickson said the county hasn’t gotten a draft of its budget yet. He said the county could delay voting on the school budget if it so desired.

“I would feel more comfortable. I hope the school budget gets everything it needs and we may go back and say we can give the $146,000, I don’t know,” Hendrick said. “But I haven’t seen anything to make a decision to where I would feel comfortable pledging $1.8 {million} without seeing the details of where it comes from and then just something on the rest of the county budget.”

Dickson said the county’s financial team has been working on the county budget. He said he believed the county was in line to be able to pay the additional $1.8 million. Schools are also required by state law to do their budgets quicker than counties, he said, noting that if the numbers don’t match, the alternative would be to raise taxes or to cut funding within the county budget. Hendrick said he would still rather see part of a county budget before the county approves a school budget.

Dickson then asked Carroll County Assistant Administrator Nikki Shank if she felt comfortable that the board could come up with the additional $1.8 million and still balance the county’s budget.

“Absolutely,” Shank said.

“You are the experts on financing, so we rely on you heavily,” Dickson said. “I will take you at your word.”

Smith said the county would also need to approve usage of $8,425,025 for school construction for the budget, as well as $2,527,595 for the food service budget and $305,400 for the textbook fund. He said he was concerned about the textbook fund, because that was the smallest amount included in the school budget for that item in a long time.

Supervisor Dr. Tom Littrell asked if this year’s funding increase request was a one-time problem because of the loss of federal stimulus funds.

“This was a reconcile year in terms of the shortfall,” Smith said. “The financial crisis hit in 2009 and this year was the one year many school systems are reconciling that dramatic decrease in state funding, and what that is doing basically is causing the localities to fund what was previously funded by the state. Now I would anticipate that the most severe problems that this board is going to have to deal with is this year. Now it may come to fruition and that will be great, if it doesn’t then we will have these level of conversations again. But I think it behooves us all to contact our state representatives and say this is about all that we can do right now.”

After a 15-minute recess, the board of supervisors returned to vote on approving the school budget. Hutchins made a motion to appropriate $27,770,566 for instruction, $1,662,382 for administration, attendance and health, $2,967,695 for pupil transportation services, $3,952,811 for operation and maintenance services, $1,395,025 for school food services and other non-instructional operations, and $1,699,977 for technology for a sum of $39,418,456. His motion also included for supervisors to work with the school system at the end of the year to realign funding as the county does with other agencies and constitutional officers to work within the budget. Littrell seconded the motion.

The motion passed 4-1 with Dickson abstaining since he is an employee of the school system. Hendrick cast the lone no vote.

“I want everybody to make sure they understand why I vote what I vote,” Hendrick said. “It’s not a school budget number, it is in my opinion I don’t have the information to make this vote, so I vote no.”

Hutchins then made a motion to approve the food services budget in the amount of $2,527,595. The motion passed 5-1 with Hendrick voting no. Supervisors also passed a motion for an appropriation of $305,400 for the school textbook fund by a 5-1 count, with Hendrick again voting no.

A motion to approve the school construction budget of $8,425,025 passed unanimously.