EDITORIAL: Here we go again with school district budget

An estimated $2 million to $2.5 million.

That’s what Darlington County School District officials say they may have to carve from this year’s general operations budget to comply with an order by state budget officials to cut 4 percent across the board from all state agency budgets. Those agencies include school districts.

In reality, because the district has already spent some funds from its new budget, the cut for the district will likely come closer to 5 or 6 percent, according to Superintendent of Education Dr. Rainey Knight.

Knight said she is hopeful the cut will not come to more than $2 million. That will depend on how much of the 4 percent state officials decide to absorb at the state level, she said.

“We’re holding on still waiting to hear from the state,” she said.

Revenue shortfalls at the state level make the cuts necessary, state officials said.

This news comes just over two months after the Darlington County Board of Education adopted a $69.9 million operating budget that reflected more than $12.5 million in cuts in state funding, including the elimination of nearly 100 employee positions district-wide, all in response to dwindling state revenues. Most of the job cuts were absorbed by attrition.

Most, but not all.

A number of classified nonteaching employees were laid off.

And those cuts would have been a lot deeper – about $4.6 million deeper – but for the infusion of federal stimulus funds totaling about $700 million for the state over a two-year period, a portion of which was aimed at public schools.

“You’re getting into some serious cuts now. I can’t pull any more rabbits out of my hat,” Knight told the board Monday night.

The superintendent said district officials anticipated another cut from the state this budget year. Just not so soon.

“The state just passed a budget in June,” she said.

During the recent budget process, district officials spent grueling hours grappling with some difficult and painful decisions. Now, decisions that may be even more difficult and painful lie ahead.