Lee County supervisors preserve school funding amid $1 million discrepancy, use sale proceeds to soften shortfall

Committee member 1 (board member) urged the Lee County Board of Supervisors on June 18 to avoid abrupt cuts to school funding, saying the board had previously published a $7,144,000 figure for schools and asking for earlier notice if reductions were required: “Y'all published 7,144,000,” the member said.

County staff later told the board that a school budget worksheet the county had been using did not balance and that revisions from the school division introduced about a $1,000,000 discrepancy. The staff member said that, combining the revised school figures with proposed EMS funding at the advertised 69¢ tax rate, the county could face “about a $2,000,000 deficit.” The staff member apologized for the earlier numbers and said updated line-item printouts would be provided at the next meeting.

With the shortfall on the table, Committee member 3 moved to use $500,000 from the anticipated sale of county property to cover at-risk education funding as an offset; the motion was seconded by the Chair. The mover described the proposal as a way to reduce the gap while preserving school operations; the Chair confirmed the motion was limited to leaving school funding at the previously cited $7,144,000 figure and was not a final budget adoption.

During a roll-call exchange, several board members said they supported funding schools at that level despite misgivings about raising taxes. One member repeated a campaign pledge not to vote to raise taxes and announced a “no” vote. Others said the projected return on the county’s proposed investment made the trade-off difficult to reject. Where votes were audible on the record, Committee member 1, Committee member 3, Committee member 4 and the Chair indicated support; the Clerk announced a dissenting vote based on opposition to tax increases. The board directed staff to produce updated line-item printouts before the next meeting.

The board also discussed short-term EMS needs and agreed that a $24,000 rescue-squad request could be handled via reappropriation on July 1 if the funds were not immediately required. Meeting participants emphasized that the reappropriation would address timing rather than change policy.

The board recessed the session and voted to reconvene at 6:00 p.m. on June 25 to finalize the budget decisions. The Chair said the June 25 workshop should allow staff to present corrected numbers and for the board to finalize actions without further surprise to school administrators or employees.