Insurance blamed for the funding cuts Walker County Schools face | timesfreepress.com

When school starts next month, Walker County Schools will operate shy of some 50 employees — the victims of the most recent rounds of budget cuts.

In an effort to cope with state funding cuts and rising health insurance and retirement costs, the district axed 28 teachers and 24 support staff members. That’s on top of the 50 or so teachers cut the year before — and the eight days of furlough staffers absorbed this year and last.

Walker County Schools leaders are in the same pinch as many other school systems in North Georgia and across the state.

As North Georgia school systems wrap up their budget seasons, many face a painful dilemma: raise taxes or cut people.

Both of those are increasingly becoming tough to swallow. Raising taxes is usually a last resort, but Georgia school systems, which have collectively lost more than $5 billion in funding from state austerity cuts since 2003, say they’re running out of options.

“When you look at doing a budget, there are only two ways you can go,” said Dade County Superintendent Shawn Tobin. “You either cut your staff to the bare bones or you start raising millage [property tax] rates.”

via Insurance blamed for the funding cuts Walker County Schools face | timesfreepress.com.