By DAVID A. FARRELL/Special to The Democrat
CARRIERE — In what amounts to a worse-case scenario, Pearl River County School Superintendent of Education Dennis E. Penton Monday night gave school board members a “preliminary budget cut list” that included, Penton said after the meeting, the possibility of laying off 30 employees at the campuses here and in McNeill.
He cautioned that figures are “preliminary.”
His comments reflected what is playing out in the State Legislature and in school districts across the state in a fight over whether or not to use the state’s reserve funds to prevent school layoffs.
The latest proposed cuts reflect the news recently delivered to local school districts that they face an additional 3.2 percent state funding cut, on top of the five percent cut received in September for an overall 8.2 percent cut. The five percent cut amounted to $660,745 for the Pearl River County School District.
The 3.2 percent state cut was acknowledged and accepted by the school board through a budget amendment. The 3.2 percent cut is about $480,000.
The latest cut of 3.2 percent, combined with a 5 percent cut in early September, amounts to a total of $1.1 million in budget cuts that the county school district will have to absorb in the fiscal 2009-10 budget.
Highlighting the budget battle the board here is fighting is the Jan. 19 decision to turn down an Early Headstart cooperative agreement with Picayune, which was worth millions.
In doing so, the county school board cited startup costs and budget restraints. Picayune then placed the proposed facility in Nicholson.
The comments made Monday night is the first mention here by school officials that some layoffs of employees and teachers might have to come if the projected financial picture doesn’t change.
Said Penton, “Right now, this represents planning for a worst-case scenario. If funding comes in better from the State Legislature, then we would possibly be able to adjust those figures and preliminary cuts.” Penton added that the preliminary outlined cuts does envision some teachers being laid off.
“Right now I have to plan on last year’s figures and last year’s cuts, because the financial picture does not look any better this year than it did last year,” Penton said.
Penton cautioned again that the cuts and possible layoffs are preliminary and not final.
“Actually, we are trying to plan in the dark sometimes, because we don’t know what the State Legislature and the governor are going to do. So we have to start with the worst-case scenario,” he said.
“I would have to run a total on it, but that is probably an accurate approximation of the cuts we have absorbed in this year’s budget,” Penton said.
In early September, all three school districts in Pearl River County — Picayune, Poplarville and Pearl River County at Carriere — received word of a five percent cut and were told to expect more.
In that first 5-percent cut the three school districts here absorbed collectivly $1.9 million in state funding cuts. That September cut cost Picayune $767,222; Poplarville $487,769 and Pearl River County at Carriere $660,745.
As Penton said Monday night, what the legislature finally does will determine just how deeply cuts will take effect here and determine if employee layoffs take place.
Last Thursday, the Mississippi House voted to restore $100 million to the $437 million in budget cuts Republican Gov. Haley Barbour has made this fiscal year, The Associated Press reported.
However, the bill has stalled in the Senate. Supporters of the governor there say the House bill takes too much money out of state reserve fund coffers.
If the bill is passed and signed by the governor, the House bill would put $43.4 million back into elementary and secondary schools, which have lost $194.6 million because of shortfalls in state revenue.
That would lower the overall cuts to school districts from 8.2 to 6.4 percent rather than 8.2 percent.
Republicans charged that the Democrats in the House were “pandering” to the “audience of educators” that were present when the bill was passed.
Democrats and supporters of the bill said the State Legislature should dip into its reserves to help local governments avoid layoffs or furloughs.
Both Pearl River County House members — Herb Frierson and Mark Formby — voted in favor of dipping into the state’s reserves to ease the blow to local governments.
On Monday the Senate voted to send the bill back to a conference committee with the House.
Sen. Gray Tollison, D-Oxford, said, “My DA says he’s about to lay off five assistant district attorneys. I hate to see what happens when the numbers come out for our schools. They’ll be laying teachers off left and right. This money is not for us to hoard. This is taxpayers’ money and I think we need to use it.”
In other matters, the PRC school board:
— Recognized the Pearl River Central High School Blue Maskers and sponsor Deborah Craig. The program at Carriere has been recognized as the top high school theatre arts program in the state. The Blue Maskers will represent Mississippi in Tennessee in regional competition.
— Recognized Pearl River Central High School Lady Devils Soccer Team, head coach Tim Anderson and assistant coach Hannah Jackson. The Lady Devils won the district championship and competed in the first round of 5-A state playoffs.
— Accepted the resignation of head football coach Jeremy Weir, who said in his letter of resignation that “it is time for me to move on.” The board will now begin the hunt for a replacement.
— Heard a presentation from Dr. Kay Clay of the Mississippi School Board Association on the policy overview and revision process. The board is in the process of revising and updating board policies.
— Went into executive session to discuss personnel matters.
— Recessed to Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
