BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Union County Schools getting ready for state budget cuts in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying shutdown.

During the Superintendent Update of the May 19, 2019 board meeting, Superintendent John Hill addressed the statewide cuts of 14 percent for the fiscal year of 2021.

“Please be aware that we are following that very closely, but at this point in time, we don’t have any valid information concerning the budget. We will not get our allotment sheet from the state until after the Legislature has met,” Hill explained.

The current plan is for the 2020 legislative session on Thursday, June 11, 2020, with offices reopening on June 1. Until the General Assembly finalizes the 2021 budgets, it’s difficult for schools to proceed.

Gov. Kemp’s office released the following information concerning state revenues for April 2020:

“The State of Georgia’s April net tax collections totaled nearly $1.84 billion for a decrease of $1.03 billion, or -35.9 percent, compared to April 2019 when net tax collections totaled $2.87 billion. Year-to-date net tax collections totaled $19.23 billion for a decrease of nearly $680 million, or -3.4 percent, compared to the previous fiscal year (FY) when net tax revenues totaled $19.91 billion.”

Georgia’s constitution states that is must have a balanced budget for each fiscal year, but the loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 shutdown will likely see several programs in education and elsewhere suffer.

“I do want everyone to know that we’re doing everything we can to take care of our employees and continually provide the high standard of quality for our students,” stated Hill.

In the May 7 called board meeting, board members unanimously approved the allocation of $527,000 in CARES Act Funds to 2021 salaries and benefits to offset the state reductions.

Georgia public school district received a total of $411,452,867 in CARE funding from the federal government to combat shortfalls due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

In a release from Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) concerning CARES, it clarified:

“The CARES Act funds are flexible in nature; districts can use them for a wide variety of efforts including distance/remote learning, school meals, supporting at-risk student populations, mental and physical health, supplemental learning, facilities/equipment, and maintaining continuity of core staff and services. The funds can be used to reimburse expenses retroactive to March 13, 2020, and do not expire until September 2022.”

CARES Act Funding graphic courtesy of GaDOE

Surrounding school systems are in the same boat as Union County and are currently waiting to see what the legislature does before making any decisions.

The board also confirmed the certified rehires for the next school year.

End of School Year

As for the end of the 2019-2020 school year, Hill also commended Union County Schools for bringing all students up to proficiency before the end of the year. The high school had 68 students in remediation. All seniors met graduation requirements. Primary school hosted one on one online meetings to help children meet all goals. The elementary school has also moved almost all their students up to As and Bs. Woody Gap’s students are all at proficiency.  Union County Middle School (UCMS) will hold a virtual award ceremony next week over Google Classroom.

UCMS Theatre Arts also aired a program “10 Ways to Survive During Quarantine.”

GaDOE left it up to local schools to determine proficiency in a subject and offered grading guidelines. Students are allowed to submit an assignment multiple times, a “no zero” policy for any homework issued after schools closed, option for assignments to be marked as compete or do not complete, establish competencies from before closure to identify a cutoff date and benchmark for course completion, and prioritize seniors, K-3, and at-risk populations for direct instruction.