Rome Board of Education members discuss budget for next school year

BOE members went on a retreat this past weekend to discuss budget as well as other items.

Twice a year members of the Rome Board of Education meet to discuss budget and school board issues for the next school year just like they did Saturday at Winshape Retreat.

The fall retreat was to reflect on where the school system is currently as well as where they would like to be said Louis Byars superintendent for Rome City Schools. Data collections have just been done which counts full time equivalency students as well as takes into consideration other numbers that will be submitted to the state to determine future funding.

Since the exact figure of funds coming in from the state are uncertain at this point, Byars said the school board had to use the formula the state government uses in order to project future funds. In the spring when these numbers are more concrete the school board will have another retreat to make final adjustments for the 2019-2020 school years’ budget. We like to get an early start on planning the budget Byars said. The governor race will likely not make an impact on the amount of funding the school system gets from the state as the new governor rarely enacts any new major changes in their first year he added.

Along with budget projections, school board members discussed long term and short term plans including staffing, transportation, capital and various projects currently in the works.