Cumberland County schools opened this morning after delaying the start of the new year two weeks due to a budget shortfall. A chancery court forced the schools to open. Mayor Brock Hill asked for the court’s help after the board of education voted earlier this month to extend summer break over a funding dispute.
Crossville kids are back in the classroom, but the budget stalemate isn’t any closer to a resolution. The Cumberland County school board has only come up with one-million dollars worth of cuts, while the county commission wants the district to reduce its budget by five-million.
Paul Hodge, who is an administrator for the school district, says class would have started this week anyway, since any further delays would have forced sports teams to forfeit their entire seasons. Hodge says the system still doesn’t want to cut personnel. Even a school resource officer or vice principal, he says, impacts the student experience.
“It’s not good. You know, when you cut programs, it’s going to hurt kids. And the board, their position is, we don’t want to hurt kids. We don’t want to compromise their safety.”
The school district has until October 1st to finalize a balanced budget or face losing state funding. The county nearly missed the state budget deadline last year as well.
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