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Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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. UNC makes NCAA Tournament as one of the last four teams in, draws San Diego State in play-in round 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cabarrus County Schools district faces budget issues, leaders plan next steps
Cabarrus County Schools leaders will begin working on their next budget in March and ahead of that, financial officials recently updated school board members on the district's fiscal standing, which is facing some significant challenges. 'This year, our enrollment has increased dramatically from what we're used to and it's cost us a lot more money,' Superintendent John Kopicki said. Redrawn district boundaries approved by Cabarrus County School Board The time has come to look at re-structuring Cabarrus County Schools budgetary commitments, he said. 'As the year evolves, some of our funding sources have not come into the expectation that they thought they would,' Kopicki said. So far this school year, the district has received less funding from the state for its average daily student enrollment and school resource officers. 'We will make sure that there is an SRO in every school,' he said. 'For me, that's a non-negotiable. We will offset that cost.' Due to 200 more students, the exceptional children's budget came in at $3 million more than expected and the expense of salary-scale adjustments for non-certified staff has not been cheap either. 'That has us a substantial amount of money to make sure that we make everybody whole,' Kopicki said. Despite those numbers, Kopicki said the district is on good financial footing. 'The sky is not falling, but I just wanted to alert everyone that there's a lot of financial decisions that have to be made as we move forward,' Kopicki said. The district has already been scaling back parts of its highly popular Program Choice due to low enrollment while also planning to expand those with the highest attendance. 'There are several of them that we know that kids are choosing,' Kopicki said. They include IB, the Fire Safety Academy at Concord High School, the early colleges, and the Cabarrus Health Sciences Institute. 'Any of the elected officials need to consider very strongly eliminating programs that make Cabarrus County a desired option for families,' said parent Jason Peoples. Peoples has three kids enrolled at schools that have Program Choice options. 'I think it's definitely something that parents keep in mind, especially when they're looking for that next opportunity for their student,' Peoples said. That is why Kopicki said the district faces tough decisions as it navigates servicing all students in a fast-growing county. 'With the growth comes cost, comes expenditures that we have to make sure that we are meeting,' Kopicki said. The district is launching a new finance committee that will hold public meetings where those who are interested can get monthly updates on the district's finances. It will be held on the last Thursday of every month. VIDEO: PETA, parents join forces to protect Cabarrus Co. school after migratory bird nest found in chimney
