The board met for more than three hours Monday night. No votes were taken on the budget or facilities plan.
/ Lindsey Theis
The Horry County School District's head of finance told the board Monday night that initial budget assumptions show a $10 million to $15 million shortfall for the 2012-2013 school year.
"9 to 10 million will be from state EFA funding," Jeff Riddle told the board Monday night.
The Horry County Board of Education met Monday night to discuss the district's facility plan and budget assumptions. They'll discuss both items again at length during a January retreat.
"It would be a mistake going through this expecting the best case scenario," Riddle said of the budget process.
He added how frustrating the process is, because at this point the district has to start planning, but they don't have all the pieces to plan.
"The (state) legislature hasn't even convened yet, and they don't even have a preliminary budget out," he said.
In June, the board approved a more than $500 million budget for the 2011-2012 school year that included raises and a tax cut. Six months prior to that, they were projecting a $50 million shortfall.
Riddle told the board he compared the process to crying wolf and said it ruined his credibility.
"Four or five months later, we went from this hurricane to having lots of resources available. I predict we are going to go through that same process again," Riddle said.
The board also discussed facilities. The 55 page facility plan is availible in full here.
To date, the district has 53 educational facilities. They include 9 high schools, 2 technology centers, 10 middle schools, 26 elementary schools, 1 alternative school, and 5 other non-traditional learning centers.
Some of the highlights include a recap of previous building stages and an update on the current building projects for 2011, funded by a local option sales tax.
The majority of projects to be completed in 2012 include $5 million in maintenance upgrades like flooring and paint.
It also includes details for a district-wide drainage project, an expansion for Carolina Forest Elementary, and a design for a new early college center. Construction for the Early College Center is set to begin in Spring 2012. Board Vice Chair Joe DeFeo says any of these or other projects under consideration may alter more than just buildings.
"When you talk about this type of plan, it can very easily affect your curriculum. If we build a K-8 or convert a K-8 school, then curriculum can be added, changed or taken away," he explains.
