Cobb BOE Adopts Tentative $899 Million Budget

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday adopted a tentative $899 million budget for next year that will include possibly 300 new teacher hires, no furlough days, and a 180-day school year.

As The Marietta Daily Journal reports, the budget includes $95 million in “unreserved” funds, which is somewhat like a savings account.

It’s a significant turnaround for the school system, which had previously faced a budget deficit of nearly $79 million.

As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, factors that assisted in eliminating the deficit included:

• The school system is getting about $35 million more in state funding from the governor’s budget, in addition to about $20 million extra in local property tax revenues.

• The district is also spending about $20 million less this year, largely because of a hiring freeze.

• Cobb is also proposing to dip into its rainy day reserve fund nearly $15 million as part of the budget.

Read more from the MDJ here.