TRENTON — Jones County Board of Education is threatening to sue the county if it doesn’t cough up more money to operate the schools.
The Board of Education has made official its appeal to Jones County Board of Commissioners for more money after informal negotiations between the two boards hit a stalemate last week.
“The school board invoked the school budget dispute mechanism which could trigger formal mediation,” Jim Hicks, attorney for Jones County Board of Commissioners, acknowledged Friday.
A hand-delivered letter from Board of Education Chairman Billy Griffin to Board of Commissioners Chairman Frank Emory included the “formal request on behalf of the Board of Education to the Board of commissioners to invoke the statutory dispute mechanism resolution procedure” under state law.
“The Board of Education does not wish to file suit to obtain additional funded for the schools,” Griffin said. “We hope you will work with us in the statutory dispute resolution process to avoid the necessity for litigation.”
Griffin said the county appropriated $1.4 million for current expenses and $50,000 for capital outlay in the budget passed June 18 although the school board requested $1,494,659 for current expense and $100,000 for capital outlay.
The total appropriation is $65,000 greater than the current year but 5.7 percent less for current expense and a 50 percent less for capital outlay than requested.
But Griffin said, “The cut in funds requested will make it difficult to operate and maintain adequate and competitive schools. As you may know, the school system is already anticipating returning $291,188 in funds to the state based on the discretionary reduction projection.”
He said, “the $288,670 shortfall will harm the students of Jones County and require the Board of Education to use close to $300,000 in fund balance which would put the school system’s fund balance below the amount recommended by the state.”
Griffin said the money appropriated by the county “is not sufficient to support a system of free public schools in Jones County.”
He asks for a joint meeting of the two boards be arranged “as soon as possible” to discuss the county’s position on school appropriation.
Commissioner Sondra Ipock Riggs said the county gave the schools more than last year and can not afford more money for the schools.
“We give them enough money, including $300,000 in supplements,” she said.
Commissioners kept the tax rate at 80 cents per hundred dollars valuation and its people can’t afford a higher rate, she said.
“We are operating at 92 percent collection,” Riggs said. “We’re selling over 100 homes for tax foreclosure and 130 more are paying on consignment.”
“This is the kicker,” she said. “They’ve got $935,000 on reserve in the 2012-13 budget and General Assembly told us yesterday they don’t have to have any. I want to know why in the name of God they don’t use that money to spend on the children instead of threatening a lawsuit.
“We’ll be paying their lawyer as well as our own. I’m going to fight this one.”
The Board of Education’s attorney for this matter is Kathleen Tanner Kennedy of Tharington-Smith in Raleigh.
Hicks said the mediation meeting is scheduled for July 11 at a time and place not yet determined but that commissioners will discuss the matter in executive session at its 8:30 a.m. Monday meeting.
Sue Book can be reached at 252-259-7506 or Sue.Book@newbernsj.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SueJBook.