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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' bottom line for the current school year is down $54 million, to just over $1.1 billion, the first time in recent memory the budget has shrunk.
The total is down 4.5 percent from 2008-09, with a $64 million boost in federal money falling short of offsetting cuts in state and county money.
The shrunken budget lands as CMS faces the possibility of flat or dwindling enrollment, also unheard of in recent years. When CMS took its official enrollment tally on the 20th school day of 2008-09, it had 134,060 students. As of Thursday, the most recent numbers available, the district had only 133,099.
Enrollment could grow by Sept. 22, when this year's count will be final, but CMS officials say they no longer believe they'll meet projections of gaining about 500 students this year. On Tuesday, the district began moving teachers out of underfilled schools and into those that are seeing more students than expected.
The school board voted 6-2 to approve the final budget Tuesday night, with Larry Gauvreau and Kaye McGarry voting no and James Ross absent.
The recession has made this year's months-long budget process more complex and confusing than usual. CMS officials began planning before they knew what they'd get from the state, which provides almost 60 percent of the district's operating money. CMS began slashing tens of millions during the spring and summer, as state budget projections worsened and legislative proposals showed huge cuts.
Meanwhile, though, the federal government pumped in more than $60 million in stimulus money.
Talk of cuts is a regular feature of CMS budget seasons. Usually it means CMS leaders get less than they hoped for to keep up with growing enrollment and rising costs, but see an overall increase.
Gauvreau, who had said publicly that he thought this year's cuts would be offset by federal stimulus money, acknowledged Tuesday that this was “for the first time, an authentic decrease year over year.” But he said the cut was too small.
A one-page budget summary given to board members Friday showed a total of more than $1.2billion, creating some confusion about how that total compared with last year's. That number included money from sources such as school lunches and after-school fees, which were not part of the 2008-09 tally of $1.19 billion.
