ST. GEORGE -- Dorchester School District 4 had anticipated state revenue cuts by more than $100,000 in their budget for this year. But now, faced with more midyear budget cuts, the district will have to find another $185,000 to meet the $297,633 reduction in state funding.

Superintendent Dr. Mary Rice-Crenshaw said the additional cuts will be taken from supplies, equipment and travel expenses.

"We've already done energy management reductions across the board, and we've frozen hiring

and redone schedules to cover vacant slots for the rest of the year," she said.

The district will eliminate advertising and recruitment, along with cutbacks in money spent for staff development and in-service training.

"We're trying to manage until the end of the year," Dr. Rice-Crenshaw said, "but these latest cutbacks are really tying our hands."

She has proposed a 10 percent reduction in supplies, equipment and travel expenses, including school board expenses to cover the funding cutbacks.

St. George Middle School Principal Kenneth Pinkney said Monday he just got word of the reductions, which he said will be mitigated somewhat by the school coming under Title 1 guidelines. The school has a large percentage of students on the reduced lunch program and are able to purchase supplies with

Title 1 money.

Pinkney said his staff will have to be careful with available supplies through the end of the year, with incentives for students and staff development workshops cut back drastically.

"The teachers here knew that the budget cuts were coming," Pinkney said. "They just didn't know the exact numbers."

Last year, the school implemented relatively minor cutbacks, and prepared for this year's cuts by keeping potential savings in mind throughout the year and not counting on any new equipment. Pinkney said his school has utilized all of its Title 1 money, so it was in better shape than if the teachers and staff hadn't planned ahead.

Dr. Rice-Crenshaw said administrators will try to implement the 10 percent cuts in the district budget by identifying all the little things they can eliminate, without hurting the instructional program.

"We really needed that money to enhance our program and move our kids forward," she said. "We'll make the sacrifices, but it's going to be tough."

T&D Correspondent Stephanie Pietrowski can be reached by e-mail at SPietro122@aol.com or by phone at 843-636-9005.

You must be logged in to comment.