New Hanover board hears Fiscal Control Act overview; superintendent seeks limited new spending to avoid eroding fund balance

Aaron Buller, a school operations specialist retained to review district budgeting practices, opened the Board of Education's budget work session with an overview of the School Budget and Fiscal Control Act, state allotment mechanics and enrollment trends that are constraining New Hanover County Schools' finances.

Buller told the board that state funding in North Carolina is position- and allotment-driven rather than a weighted-student formula and that average daily membership (ADM) declines are difficult for districts to manage because many costs are fixed. "85% of every dollar you spend in a school system budget goes to salary benefits," Buller said, emphasizing that personnel costs dominate the budget. He also noted the state frequently issues budget revisions and that districts often work from proposed budgets until state and county figures are finalized.

Superintendent Dr. Barnes described the district's fiscal position and the budget priorities she intends to present. Barnes said the district has not drawn on its fund balance this year for the first time in five years and warned that the current operating level is "subsistence." "This is the first year in 5 years that we have not touched our fund balance and it affected children," Barnes said. She told the board the district's four-year average draw from fund balance is about $6,000,000 and that the current unassigned fund balance is roughly $2,100,000 (about 2–3%…