The Alamance-Burlington School Board of Education and its superintendent publicly announced a drastic shortfall in money needed to complete repairs to schools and run the district, and they placed blame on Alamance County government officials.
That drew a strong rebuke later from one of the county commissioners.
Speaking to reporters in an unfinished classroom at Cummings High School that is missing walls as a result of the toxigenic mold that was removed, Superintendent Dain Butler said the room was among many affected by mold that the school system can’t pay to finish fixing.
“Simply put, years of inefficient investment from our county has caught up with us. We are looking for a stronger partnership with our commissioners today,” he said. “When funding from our county commissioners is not sufficient, we are forced to use other funds from our already limited budget to fill in the gaps.”
He said he has implemented a hiring freeze for all non-teaching positions on top of making $7 million in cuts this past school year.
“We’re being fiscally responsible with our taxpayer dollars that we get, but they’re simply not enough. I am fearful that these reductions will have to continue, impacting our resources for our staff and students.” he said. “This financial crisis has been developing for many years, and has been further strained by our recent mold crisis. We are asking for a stronger investment from our commissioners.”
School board Chair Sandy Ellington-Graves said that it would cost $125,000 to fix the room where they addressed reporters Thursday, but the school district has only $102,038.
“We are in a financial crisis. Meeting in this room was no coincidence. This is a powerful look at the reality of the situation we’re facing,” she said. “This is the same fight that’s been festering for years, with the same results. We want and need to work with the commissioners for truly healthy and safe schools for our students and staff.”
According to the school board, Alamance County has a total county budget of $253.7 million, of which $48.8 million, or 19.2%, was allocated to the school district.
Ellington-Graves compared that to the percentage of their budgets that Orange and Guilford counties devote to schools, 36% and 46% respectively.
John Paisley, the chairman of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners, later went on television himself to dispute those numbers and criticize ABSS officials.
“I was extremely concerned and upset (about the press conference). Their financial people typically don’t talk to ours. It is extremely hard for us to get information from them, but they make almost monthly demands and so forth,” he said.
Paisley contended that on top of the $48.8 million the school system received $3.3 million in capital outlay funding and $15.1 million in debt services, bringing the total to more than $67.2 million, or 32% of the county’s budget, “and that is a pretty large number.”
Les Atkins, the ABSS public information officer, said that the additional money Paisley cited can’t be counted because it is not used for running the school system.
“We need adequate funding and an adequate investment in our school district to move forward and do what’s right for children in this county,” he said.
Ellington-Graves said that the county commissioners covered the costs of recent mold remediation with more than $17 million that was previously earmarked for critical building repairs and other projects.
“That money was taken from our own state-mandated capital reserves and lottery funds, which simply flow through the county’s accounts to our district. Now, we urgently need the county commissioners to make good on the funding they have already committed to us,” Ellington-Graves said.
According to ABSS, mold remediation costs were $25.8 million, with $18.7 million paid to Builder Services, Sasser Restoration and testing companies. There is another $6.9 million in remaining invoices, and the school board wants $3.3 million in funding that they say is needed to stay afloat.
Ellington-Graves said that making more cuts would be an unacceptable last resort, and she called for the public to pressure the commissioners ahead of their meeting this coming Monday.
“For our taxpayers, the time is now for us to unite as a community. Our children need you. Their future needs you. Please contact our county commissioners and stand with ABSS,” she said. “This historic lack of investment in ABSS by our county can’t continue if we want to have safe and healthy learning environments for our students.”
