Dalton school board meets today on budget

Published 9:40 pm Sunday, May 9, 2010

Dalton Board of Education members meet today to discuss the deepest budget cuts they’ve faced in years as well as a plan to eliminate 52 positions.

Board chairman Steve Williams said board members will listen to Superintendent Jim Hawkins’ proposed cuts at the meeting at Dalton City Hall. It begins with a 5:30 p.m. work session followed by a 6:30 p.m. regular meeting.

Hawkins proposals will include eliminating the 52 positions to save about $3 million, reducing the number of paid days for most employees by 10 to save $1.9 million and reducing other programs and services to shave off $600,000. The cuts are coming because of a reduction in state funding as well as declining local revenues related to the sagging economy, officials said.

The board is scheduled to tentatively finalize a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 at its June 14 meeting. The current year’s budget is about $59 million.

In some cases, the cuts are not as bad as originally suggested. For example, Hawkins originally proposed eliminating the C3 Center for gifted students from next year’s funding but later decided only to scale back services there. Elementary school students in the gifted program attend the center one day a week, but that privilege will be reserved only for fifth-graders next year, he said.

First- and second-grade students will have one segment of gifted education at their home schools five days a week, while third- and fourth-graders will have two segments five days a week. Fifth-graders will have two segments for four days a week and one day a week will attend the C3 Center all day. Busing to the C3 Center will no longer be provided.

“The idea is the gifted experience is much more needed (in upper elementary grades than for younger students),” Hawkins said.

Other programs facing reductions or restructuring related to budget cuts are Reading Recovery, Literacy Collaborative, Early Intervention Program, gifted education, enrollment services, exceptional student services and athletics administration.

Williams said the board will vote on the measures it hears Monday during a called board meeting on Wednesday at City Hall at noon. Both meetings are open to the public, but anyone wishing to speak must have notified the superintendent in writing seven days before the meeting, according to board policy.

The Dalton school system employs 874 people and serves nearly 7,000 students.

Anyone who wants to have input on the budget can offer suggestions by e-mailing to info@daltonpublicschools.com, mailing to DPS Budget P.O. Box 1408, Dalton, GA, 30722 or calling (706) 278-8766. More information about the budget is posted on the school system’s website, www.daltonpublicschools.com.