21 Mar Crying Contract – why it won’t work for the school leadership this year
St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone and there is still no approved budget from the Northumberland County school leadership for the Board of Supervisors to consider. The clock is ticking and if past is prologue, we’ll soon start hearing from the same school leadership that staff will start leaving as there are no contracts and contracts can’t be issued without an approved budget.
So, is this the latest the school has presented a budget under the current leadership? Actually….no.
In 2017, the budget was provided to the Board of Supervisors on May 25 and in 2023 the budget was presented on April 13. On average, the Board of Supervisors uses 67 work days to review, analyze, ask questions, hold a hearing, and consider the school budget along with the full County budget.
Should the Board of Supervisors rush consideration because the school leadership can’t produce a budget? The pot of gold at the end of the Northumberland County rainbow is almost completely funded by your tax dollars. Any increase to school funds will come out of your pockets in the form of higher real estate taxes OR will be funded as a result of catastrophic decreases to other county services’ budgets. This year’s county budget must be well considered – there is no reason to rush consideration of the school budget without the full scope of the county budget in mind.
This short clip provides information on why: https://rumble.com/v6qyg60-crying-contract-wont-work-this-year.html