The Board's action came Thursday night after a public hearing. The roughly $600,000 shortfall will be made up with money left over from the current year's budget when more students than expected showed up for class.
The school district anticipates 103 fewer students next year than this year. Declining enrollment has been a fact of life, prompting ever smaller school budgets.
While there aren't plans to make cuts in programs or teaching staff, the school district is still hurting from cuts made in the past couple of years.
Meanwhile, a $26 billion federal aid package, signed by President Obama on Aug. 10, allocates $10 billion for school districts to retain or rehire teachers, counselors, classroom aides, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and others — with the remainder of the money directed toward health care for the poor, emergency personnel and other state purposes.
The guessing around the School Board table Thursday night was not to expect any of that money. The Governor, faced with a deficit, may simply use that money hold on to teachers for another year that might, otherwise, be cut.