Houston County schools prepare for budget hearing

By: Jim Cook | Dothan Eagle
Published: July 13, 2010

The Houston County Board of Education has set hearings to discuss its budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

The board will hold hearings in August and September to discuss the budget, which is once again under pressure because of declining state sales tax revenue.

Houston County School Superintendent Tim Pitchford said revenues may be off as high as nine to 10 percent.

Pitchford said despite the budgetary difficulties, the county will likely be able to keep its programs in place and avoid layoffs. The county will also likely be able to keep providing each teacher in the system with $400 in supply money.

“We were trim to start with,” Pitchford said.

The county schools currently have a little more than $11 million in reserve, which allows them to maintain their programs, he said. The reserve fund was built up by not over-hiring Pitchford said. State law requires school systems to keep at least one month’s operating balance in reserve, which few systems have been able to do recently. The county’s reserve fund currently amounts to three month’s operating balance.

In addition to setting dates for budget hearings, the school board also approved bids for custodial uniforms. The new uniform contract will cost the system about $10,000 less than the old contract.

The school board also approved a lighting project for the baseball field at Cottonwood School.