The question of whether the Wake County school board should return to the county around $15 million in excess fund balance is likely to be a big issue during the budget process next year.

In a nutshell, the school system's undesignated fund balance, colloquially called its rainy day fund, has grown so much in the past few years that board policy dictates that about $15 million be returned to county commissioners.

But with next year's budget being tight, is that the right call? Also, it would take a two-thirds majority to waive policy to keep the $15 million so would a bi-partisan coalition agree to that decision?

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST, WHICH NOW INCLUDES LINK TO TUESDAY DISCUSSION ON RICK & DONNA MARTINEZ SHOW ON WPTF

The new Wake County student assignment plan will lead to changes in how new schools are built and filled.

As shown in this handout from Tuesday's school board meeting, the plan would have elementary schools open K-3 instead of the current system of opening K-5. Middle schools would only open with sixth-grade instead of the current practice of also having seventh-grade. New high schools would still open with only ninth- and 10th-grades.

The schools would pick up their additional grades as the kids age up.

Wake County school board member Keith Sutton wants the school district to begin setting priorities for things to protect in the face of next year's budget crunch.

Sutton got the process started at last week's finance committee meeting, where he proposed ideas such as protecting pre-K funding, providing enough funding for alternative schools and improving the academic performance for African American male students.

Sutton said he's hoping the full school board will have a similar discussion on the issue.

Wake County school board member Carolyn Morrison is getting national coverage in a story where people were asked for their views on how to jump start the economy.

As noted in this Associated Press article appearing nationally this weekend, Morrison advocates more federal stimulus money. Morrison said she wants more spending like the money used during the Great Depression by the federal Works Progress Administration that went toward building the school she attended as a child in Lumberton.

"Thinking back to (Franklin) Roosevelt and other presidents who faced this problem, I guess the stimulus package would be the closest to giving jobs as anything," Morrison said in the article.

Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta took another jab today at vice chairwoman Debra Goldman and also ripped into Commissioner Stan Norwalk for talking about teacher layoffs and opposing more charter schools.

In an interview today on WPTF's "Bill LuMaye Show," Margiotta accused Goldman of "walking away from her commitments" with her votes killing the zone plan and adopting Kevin Hill's student assignment proposal.

But the majority of that initial interview was on the looming budget crisis and the inevitability of layoffs next year. Margiotta again accused Norwalk, who was also interviewed today by LuMaye, of using "scare tactics" by saying that 2,000 teachers face being laid off.

Wake County school administrators painted their grimmest budget picture yet for next school year as they warned today that layoffs are inevitable and that deep classroom cuts will have to be considered.

The school system is facing the loss of more than $100 million in funding next year from the loss of federal stimulus dollars and the state facing a $3 billion revenue shortfall. With salaries accounting for more than 80 percent of Wake’s $1.2 billion operating budget, Chief Business Officer David Neter said layoffs are “inevitable” based on the scope of the funding cuts.

Neter said Wake has been fortunate compared to other school districts in that it hasn’t had to make classroom cuts that are as deep. He said that could end next year as Wake is out of wiggle room.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Wake County commissioners Stan Norwalk and Tony Gurley got into a tussle Monday over the possibility of teacher layoffs in next year's schools budget.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, Norwalk warned that the school system might have to fire as many as 2,000 teachers to make up for expected cuts in state funding and the loss of federal stimulus funding it received for the current year.

Norwalk got an angry response from Gurley, the board chairman, when Norwalk proposed that the county sell unused land and convert the proceeds into operating expenses.

Don't look for the Wake County school board's economically disadvantaged student performance task force to be focusing on student assignment.

During Thursday's meeting, task force members and people from the audience were able to vote on up to three topics for the group to focus on. You could put all three of your dots on one issue or spread them out.

Among the leaders after the light voting was student assignment.

CORRECTED TO SAY ASSIGNMENT IN FIRST PARAGRAPH

The budget news for next year is looking even bleaker for the Wake County school system.

Based on today's budget briefing from Chief Business Officer, the school district is staring at the loss of $100 million next year, including all the money from custodians and most of the money for clerical staff.

A big chunk of the lost money is from the end of federal stimulus dollars.

The Wake Education Partnership is warning that the current economic climate could limit the new Wake County's school board majority's plans to change student assignment.

In this month's Topic Review that was released this morning, the WEP notes how the continued economic recession is forcing the school system to make budget cuts. The WEP says that "the current school board is forced to live with the financial realities and community expectations that have shaped past budget decisions."

"This is not to suggest the current board is handcuffed from making changes that can greatly affect many families," the WEP writes. "But taken as a whole, the financial realities facing Wake County will severely constrain the board's flexibility. It's a difficult time to be adding choices without removing services that are already offered."