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Sherrill: Schools need millions

Burke County School Board Controversy

More articles about the Burke County School Board Controversy

By Steve Welker | The News Herald

Published: August 28, 2009

MORGANTON - Burke County Public Schools needs an additional $13.56 million, most of it for operational expenses, Interim Superintendent Rick Sherrill testified Thursday in Superior Court.

That's in addition to the $14.1 million the school district requested from the Burke County commissioners for 2009-10, Sherrill said during six hours of questioning.

Formerly associate superintendent and now, since July 1, the acting superintendent, Sherrill also revealed the schools may have to make more spending cuts in 2009-10, depending on the outcome of the case in which he was the first witness.

The Burke County Board of Education on Aug. 5 sued the Burke County Board of Commissioners for more money to operate the schools. After three days of hearings on various motions, the trial itself started Thursday.

The two board's special counsels, Richard Schwartz for the schools and Larry McMahon for the county, offered brief opening remarks in Judge Donald Bridges' courtroom.

Schwartz said the single issue is how much money the school board needs to maintain a system of free public schools. He broke down the case into six points, saying, "We need the money — a lot of money." The school board can't maintain the schools without it, he said. The board asked the county for it. The county commissioners admitted they have it. However, they won't give it to the schools. The commissioners, Schwartz said, are determined to maintain control over the school board at all costs.
McMahon disagreed. He said the issue is a dispute between the school board and the commissioners over the schools' $363,800 6900 fund.

"This case is not of enormous import," McMahon said. There is no disagreement over money for teaching students and any discussion of that is irrelevant, he insisted. McMahon also said there was no disagreement over capital-outlay funds until a couple of weeks ago.

He said the county commissioners and school board both anticipated budget cuts this year. The school board began cost-saving efforts and laid off employees, but McMahon also said it started the school year by buying out the former superintendent's contract for $126,900 with nine months' remaining and by spending $12,000 for membership dues in the North Carolina School Boards Association. The school board also racked up legal expenses for trying to terminate the superintendent's contract, accreditation and seeking a new superintendent. None of the money was needed to maintain the schools, he added.

"If you waste money from any source," McMahon said, "then you can't go back and ask the county to make it up."

Schwartz said the school board had reasons to replace Burleson, but terminating him for cause would have been more expensive and divisive in the community. Buying out the contract saved the system money, he said

With Sherrill on the stand, Schwartz asked how the school system developed its budget — a budget that Sherrill later stated he did not support.

Sherrill began to say the budget was crafted to fit the 43 percent of ad valorem (property) taxes the county expected to collect in 2009-10.

McMahon objected to the reference to a disputed court order that resolved lawsuits involving the schools and the county in 2005

Judge Bridges sustained McMahon's objections to Schwartz's repeated attempts to bring up the 2005 consent decree. Bridges later sustained a dozen nearly consecutive attempts by Schwartz to bring up the "reconciliation funds" — $486,000 the school board contends it is owed based on the consent decree.

Schwartz finally asked Sherrill for his opinion about the appropriate way to develop a budget. Sherrill said he believes it should be produced from the ground up; that is, by finding out the schools needs, prioritizing those needs and presenting a recommended budget for the school board's approval.

Instead of that process, Sherrill said, "We were trying to comply with the 43 percent from the budget."
"Objection!" McMahon said. The school board was trying to make the full budget as an issue, he explained.

"We're saying we need a lot more money," Schwartz countered. He told the judge it will be up to the court to decide how much the schools need.

McMahon said if that was true, "I submit that the courts would be full" of school boards hoping to litigate their funding rather than allowing county commissioners to decide the amounts.

Bridges thought about it for a few moments and then called a 10-minute recess. Back in his seat, Bridges said his decision "may be one of the most important rulings in this case."

"The purpose of our being here is to resolve this dispute, not reinvent the wheel," he said. "It would be a fool's errand," the judge continued, for him to presume that he could start from scratch and write a budget for the school system. However, Bridges conceded, he needed to hear more information about the schools' budget. So he overruled McMahon's objection.

Fifteen minutes later, Sherrill presented his and Finance Officer Keith Lawson's six-page, 22-item list of the schools needs.

"Do you really expect me to order the county commissioners to come up with $13,557,000?" Bridges asked.

Sherrill said he didn't expect the commissioners to come up with it all at once.
(According to county figures, raising $13.56 million might add more than 21 cents per $100 to property taxes.)

Bridges and McMahon both asked whether the money is really needed. If so, why it isn't in the budget? McMahon also probed the point about the reconciliation funds. If the schools needed the money, why wasn't it budgeted?

Cross-examining Sherrill, McMahon asked whether the superintendent thought it was more important to spend $12,000 for dues in the N.C. School Boards Association or $25,000 for science labs in the middle schools. Sherrill said the dues were more important, because the association provides information about the legislature's activities, training for school board members and discount coupons for school supplies.

McMahon also pressed Sherrill on how the county's decision to withhold the 6900 funds affected the schools. Sherrill said it made spending "cumbersome." He also said Central Office ran out of paper a few days ago and had to borrow some from another source, because office supplies are in the 6900 fund.

"Borrowed from who?" McMahon asked.

"Schwartz & Shaw," Sherrill replied.

His testimony ended about 4 p.m. and Finance Officer Keith Lawson took the stand for about 45 minutes.

The trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. today in Burke County Courthouse Courtroom No. 1.