The potential for restoring a 3 percent pay cut to school system employees, an update on upcoming budget considerations and other issues will be taken up on April 19 by the Fayette County Board of Education.
Everyone on the board has repeatedly stated their desire to restore the remaining 3 percent of the larger 4.5 percent cut from two years ago when the board anticipated having to operate the school system in the red. Some on the board say they want to restore the wages now while others want to see what the near-term future holds in terms of state and local revenues for the coming fiscal year that begins July 1.
That restoration has been the subject of conversation among some school system staff since the cuts were made. The conversation has been bolstered by what some employees say is the projected $19 million fund balance expected in June 30. The cost of restoring the 3 percent would be approximately $4 million.
Yet inside the framework of the conversation are other variables in the form of budgetary issues that have to be addressed by the time the budget is voted on in late June. Among those are the diminished state dollars next school year that will result from Fayette’s falling student enrollment and the potential for additional reductions in state funds.
Among the other items to be addressed Tuesday night is the consideration of school system’s high school math curriculum. Math Coordinator Lynn Ridgeway in an April 1 memo recommended that the board continue the current integrated high school math curriculum rather than returning to the traditional math curriculum.
