By Bill Grubb

ROGERSVILLE - Receiving increased revenue or cutting expenditures are the options facing the Hawkins County Board of Education as the look at a budget that is currently out of balance by $1,041,008.
    The school board held a budget workshop Monday, with Director of Schools Charlotte Britton presenting the board with a first draft of the school system's proposed $63.5 million spending plan.
    According to Britton, the general fund budget estimates revenues of $48 million, and will require $873,994 to balance the proposed expenditures.  The separate $3.6 million transportation budget is out of balance by $167,094.
    The director and board have not yet requested any additional funding to balance the budget, but Britton noted each cent of the county's tax rate generates $69,166.24 for the county school system.
    A 13-cent increase in the $1,04 share of the property tax rate would be required to balance the general fund, with the transportation fund's 17-cent share of the tax rate requiring an additional two cents, if a property tax increase were used to balance the budget.
    Britton said the proposed budget does not cut any positions and she noted a new teaching position is being proposed for the Pathways Alternative School and two new positions for the maintenance department.
    Britton also said the proposed budget does not include any funds for capital outlay projects, such as the installation of a new roof at Surgoinsville Middle School, which has already been put out for bids.  During the workshop session Assistant Director Jim Hageman told the board "he wouldn't be surprised if that roof costs $500,000."
    During previous years the board has used reserve funds to cover the one-time cost of capital improvement projects.
    Britton did explain the school system will receive approximately $1.4 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for the next two fiscal years.  She said the funds could be used for capital projects that help the school system "go green" but she cautioned against using them to fund recurring expenditures.
    "Another  thing we want to keep in mind is we will only receive this money for two years. After that it is gone," Britton said.
    The board agreed to review the budget and prioritize a list of capital projects and have a workshop session prior to the July 9 board meeting.
    "It looks like we are either going to the county commission asking for money or we are going to be making some cuts," board member Perry Dykes noted.