Battle Lines Being Drawn

In a continuation of the seemingly never-ending saga that is the relationship between the Sumner County Commission and Sumner County School Board, the Commission's Budget Committee recently moved to slow funding for capital projects in order to address near-term deficits. 

Of course, funding for school projects was delayed this past year as capital funds were shifted to the general operating fund in order to ease the budget impasse that caused a delay in the start of the 2012-13 school year. 

With Commissioners such as Jerry Stone and Jim Vaughn continuing to put road blocks in the way of fully-funded schools, it seems another tense budget battle is already brewing.  The Commission has yet to address the school safety request from the School Board (though a preliminary meeting is scheduled for Thursday) and the system needs about $7 million worth of computers for the new standardized tests tied to the Common Core State Standards. 

The School Board has already approved offering a retirement incentive again this year as a way to encourage more senior teachers to leave -- saving money by hiring newer teachers at lower salaries and hopefully avoiding layoffs. 

However, with computers to buy and reserves spent to the maximum last year, it seems likely that absent additional funds from the County Commission, some teachers and staff will lose their jobs.