At last night’s meeting, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved a proposed budget for the 2011-2012 school year. The budget request, which will go to Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones on May 15, seeks a total of $352.3 million in funding from the county.

That amount is $50 million more than the initial proposal put forward by Superintendent Peter Gorman. The board voted to increase Gorman’s request and use the additional $50 million to spare the Bright Beginning pre-kindergarten program and prevent the district from making cuts in weighted-student staffing and increasing class sizes.

The district budget request to the county also includes $3.4 million to cover an expected growth of 2,500 students and $21.9 million to cover the costs of sustaining operations. It is slightly more than the county funding provided of $351.4 million to CMS in 2008-2009.

“This is a process,” Gorman said of the budget.

The budget for CMS will not be final until the state completes its budget, which is probably several weeks away. In 2010-2011, CMS received more than half of its funding from the state.

*** The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing to receive input on the county's budget. It will be held at the Government Center on Thursday, May 19 at 6 p.m. Speakers can sign up online at charmeck.org or call  (704) 336-2086  (704) 336-2086 before May 18.

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