TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Leon County School Board approved $7.8 million in budget cuts at Tuesday’s meeting.
The cuts come after lengthy discussions among school board members and the community.
The approved budget includes a $2.3 million reduction in district cost centers, a $4.8 million cut in staffing, $500,000 in cuts to arts and athletics programs and a $125,000 decrease in funding for community groups.
While Tuesday’s vote approved the cuts to the budget, Superintendent Rocky Hanna emphasized that there is potential to revise the budget when state lawmakers finalize funding.
“We do hope when the legislature returns that we will have better news,” Hanna said. “We always said we can go back and add some of these things back.”
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Hanna also said the budget reduction was not an easy decision.
These cuts are already raising concerns among some parents. One Leon County Schools parent said if money for arts and athletics isn’t coming from the schools, it will come from families.
School Board Member Laurie Cox shared her appreciation for all that has gone into making these hard decisions, especially those in the community who have shared their thoughts.
“Behind every number, there is a story,” Cox said. “Every number represents a story. We appreciate the people who have come up and spoken and people out in the community that we’ve heard from and all the work that’s gone into this.”
The budget proposal passed unanimously.
Hanna said he plans to meet with principals starting early next month to discuss how these reductions could impact individual campuses.
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