Wake County Schools committee backs ‘Option B’ to restore dental, maintenance and add restart funding

Members of the Wake County Schools Budget and Finance Committee signaled support for a draft budget package, referred to as “Option B,” that would restore employee dental coverage, avoid a $600,000 cut to maintenance operations and generate roughly $1 million to restore restart funding for high-need schools.

The committee’s discussion centered on how to cover the cost of restoring benefits and services the superintendent initially proposed reducing. Staff presented two primary options: one that would reduce the proposed 3% increase to the district’s certified-staff local supplement to 2% and another that would reduce it to 1.5%. Under the 2% scenario, staff said the adjustments would largely break even; under the 1.5% scenario — the committee’s preferred choice — the district would net about $1 million in additional savings that could be reallocated to restart programs.

Why it matters: The budget choices affect staff pay, school maintenance and targeted supports for struggling schools. Committee members repeatedly emphasized that any…