CMS Preparing For Last-Minute State Budget

It could be weeks before Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools decides if it'll cut middle school sports and make tens of millions of other cuts for next school year.

State lawmakers already delayed the deadline for adopting a budget once, and now it's appears they'll delay it even more.

The state budget was supposed to be completed by July 1. That date came and went. Legislators gave themselves a two week extension, and now it appears they won't make this deadline either.

"It makes a sticky situation, but I've never seen it where the state makes their deadline. Unfortunately, this year is much different than any other year," said school board member “Coach” Joe White.

School districts around the state are patiently waiting to see just how much money they'll get, and the longer they wait, the closer it get to the first day of school.

CMS has planned for an additional $33 million worth of cuts, but officials said they don't plan on moving forward with those cuts until the state adopts a budget.

One item CMS has moved forward with is changing the class and bus schedules at Northwest School of the Arts and J.T. Williams Middle School, a move that would create fewer bus routes and save the district $600,000.

"Some cuts can be made faster. This one has to be done early because the transportation department and parents have to plan ahead," said White.

District leaders are hopeful a budget is adopted before the August so they have time to implement any of the additional cuts they've planned for.

"We wouldn't want to tell students halfway through the middle school sports season that it's over," White said.

The state Senate has already passed the new extension but is waiting on the House to approve it. If the governor signs off on a two week stop-gap spending plan, state agencies will be forced to run on 85 percent of their previous budgets.