Board Of Education To Discuss Reserve Spending Plan

by Gabe BullardThe Jefferson County Board of Education Monday will discuss a plan to tap the district's reserve funds to avoid budget cuts.The Jefferson County Public Schools' budget proposal calls for about 27 million dollars of the school's 90 million reserve fund to be spent. The money would go bus service, textbooks and keeping two days in the school calendar that may be cut by the General Assembly.Superintendent Sheldon Berman says he's reluctant to tap the reserves, but it's a necessity given the economic downturn."We've been planning on that for two years, actually," he says. "We anticipated that we'd have a shortfall in the state budget and we'd have to dip into the reserves to compensate for that."Berman says if the General Assembly eventually passes a budget with lighter cuts to education, less reserve spending may be necessary. The Board of Education will only discuss the spending plan today (Monday), won’t vote on it.