Gilmer County Charter School System in ‘Financial Jeopardy’

Opinion submitted by John Williamson:
The Gilmer County Charter School System’s General Fund pays for day-to-day expenses including salaries, maintenance and operation (M&O), administration and the like. It receives its revenue from a combination of state funding and the assessed Gilmer County School tax. The 2015 revenue sought from Gilmer County taxpayers is $16,010,574, from a 17.3 millage rate on the county’s Net M & O digest. The board of education approved the 2015 budget submitted by the superintendent that has a shocking $4,606,357 deficit; that is, a budget where spending will be a whopping $4,606,357 more than it receives in revenue. (Details are at www.Gilmerschools.com/District/Finance/Budget and Tax Information)

Where is the public outcry? How can this work?

It works because prior boards and superintendents managed to accrue a reserve, called “the fund,” which now stands at about $16.5 million after absorbing nearly a $2 million loss last year. The estimated fund balance next June is about $11.9 million after this year’s loss.

The pattern of deficit spending is clear. Do the superintendent and board have a plan to stop this financial hemorrhage? At this rate, it won’t be long before the fund is exhausted.

Once the fund is depleted, what happens then? Can you imagine the chaos which a sudden reduction of millions in spending would cause in the system? Raising the millage rate to the state’s maximum of 20 mills won’t be enough; it would only reduce our current deficit by half. Tax receipts from ESPLOST cannot be transferred to the General Fund account; they can only be used for capital expenditures. The maintenance and operation expenses of new facility construction with ESPOST funds will only add to the deficit.

The obvious solution would require a drastic spending cut which could entail a reduction of the local salary supplement for the teachers, a reduction of staff and services, or increased class sizes. Perhaps the staff will be asked to increase their contributions to their health and pension plans. Note that teachers with from 3 to 20 years’ experience receive a state-mandated salary increase annually or bi-annually.

Ask your superintendent and board members how they will address this challenge.

The time for a plan is now. We can’t wait until all our reserves are spent. All the high-sounding, eloquent justifications for this deficit really don’t matter. If the spending doesn’t get under control one way or another, our school system will be bankrupt. It’s the responsibility of the board and superintendent to manage the finances.

Why don’t we insist they face this problem and generate a plan to deal with it now?

In spite of past difficult financial times, our Gilmer County school system has had students and programs who have excelled statewide. Is our current leadership going to be able to continue this success while providing a fiscally sound operation? Taxpayers and other concerned citizens deserve to know.