GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — According to the budget recommendation presented by Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras to the Guilford County Board of Education on Wednesday, the number one priority for Guilford County Schools next year is the recovery of lost learning time.
Support for recovering lost learning time will be funded, in part, by the federal K-12 Emergency Relief Fund. The district is expected to get $21 million in K-12 Emergency Relief Funds, which are included in the Superintendent’s budget recommendation. In addition, the district will also redirect existing state, local, and federal resources as necessary to meet the needs of students.
“The learning loss of the 2019-2020 school year will be the single greatest challenge educators across the country will face in the coming months and years. We must dedicate resources now to address the impact this loss is having on our students, particularly the most vulnerable,” said Contreras.
Pending board approval of the superintendent’s budget recommendations, the district plans to concentrate on five core priorities.
• Extended learning time to help students recover lost knowledge and skills, and spur greater academic growth;
• Ensuring that students have laptops and tablets that support remote learning;
• Expanding access to connectivity for students and families;
• Diagnostic assessments to plan instruction and design appropriate interventions; and,
• Individualized academic support to remediate and accelerate learning.
The total operating budget recommendation is more than $759 million, excluding enterprise and capital outlay funds. Of this, 59 percent comes from the state, 29 percent comes from the local Board of County Commissioners and 12 percent comes from federal funding sources. The district’s total proposed budget for 2020-2021 is $842.6 million when all funds are included.
Included in the recommendation is a request of $5.7 million from the Board of County Commissioners to address the legislative impacts of mandatory salary and benefit-cost increases for GCS personnel and anticipated growth in charter school enrollment.
The recommendation further includes an additional request of $1.6 million to sustain school bus driver salary increases in 2020-2021 provided by the county commissioners earlier this school year.
The Board will consider feedback on the proposed budget at their April 30 meeting. A vote is expected at the May 12 meeting.
For more details and information on the budget, you can click here.