State Mandates More Immediate School Budget Cuts

An already tight budget for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is getting smaller.

Education officials announced a state-wide cutback on Friday, which includes taking $3.8 million from CMS' 2008-2009 budget.

CMS officials could not immediately say where the cuts will come from, but they said no cuts would be made to the classrooms.

The cut is similar to a $5 million cut CMS had to make back in December. Back then, the district said it eliminated some open positions and stopped its plans to order new buses, among other things.

Parents picking their children up from school Friday said cuts to education are the wrong decision.

"You have to disagree with it," said Quintin Williams, father of a 14-year-old at Sedgefield Middle School. "I don't believe in cutting anything that has to do with education. Education is the key.”

State officials said the money will be taken back from school districts as early as next Thursday.

PDF: N.C. Public Schools Required Reductions