17-03-2025
Cabarrus County Schools request funding for new roof amid budget woes
CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. () – The Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote Monday evening on a motion to grant Cabarrus County Schools with funds for a roof replacement at Central Cabarrus High School.
CCS is requesting $398,191 from the Public School Building and Renovation Fund, supported by lottery revenue.
District Chief Financial Officer Philip Penn told commissioners leaks in the roof have caused thousands of dollars in damages to security systems, electrical components, and ceiling tiles. CCS officials said the project can't be postponed.
The total cost of the replacement is estimated at $2.6 million. District leaders budgeted $1.1 million for the project and reallocated funds from other projects, leaving $398,191 to close the gap.
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Commissioners will meet at 6 p.m. on March 17 at the Governmental Center in Concord, N.C., Monday evening.
The regular meeting comes as the school system is facing a $11 million deficit
In a monthly financial summary, Penn explained salaries, legal fees and disability programs were more costly than expected while state and county funding did not keep up.
CCS created a finance committee to find ways to reduce the deficit. Suggestions include 'aggressively limit hiring' and streamlining funding for Program Choice, which provides courses in STEM, foreign languages, and career training.
Parents recently called on county commissioners to invest more in public education to help bridge the gaps. They said they don't want schools to lose offerings that draw families into the district, nor do they want to lose qualified teachers due to compensation shortfalls.
'Our teachers shouldn't have to work second and third jobs to make ends meet,' said parent Tim Taylor. 'Cabarrus County provides a 13% teacher supplement. Charlotte-Mecklenburg provides over 25%. I'm not asking for 25% for teachers. I think there are reasonable increases that can be made over a period of time. I applaud the incremental increases to teachers supplement over the past few years, but more must be done. You have the ability to further validate the hard work of our educators by implementing meaningful supplement increases.'
The finance committee meets on the last Thursday of each month. Meetings are open to the public.
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