HALIFAX —  The Halifax County Schools District is losing students and in turn money. That was the warning from District Finance Officer Carrie Neal as she advised the school board this week to proceed with caution in anything to do with budget matters.

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Neal expects a hard hit to the current budget in the near future based on enrollment. Some jobs may be lost. “You have to ask yourself, do we need all these teachers without the students?,” she asked the board as she explained the dilemma.

“We’re down by 300 students,” she said, then explained the impact this was going to have for the district. “We’re currently being funded for 4,279 students. This is going to be devastating to this county.”

Neal went on to say she’d warned the board previously a “direct hit” to one area in the budget would impact other areas as well. She said these numbers after the first 20 days of school were discouraging.

Neal said she’d expected enrollment to decline some this year, but not at this level. She originally thought the district might be losing students to charter schools but those numbers didn’t line up. “Which leads me to believe families are leaving the county,” she said. Neal cited statistics on unemployment and slow economic growth, then said North Carolina Department of Public Instruction sources echoed her belief.

Neal said because the enrollment loss is so great, DPI will take the numbers again in 20 days, then make the adjustments.

These decreases will effect each of the areas of classroom teacher, instructional supplies, non-instructional supplies, teacher assistants, classroom materials and supplies, text books and career technical education.

“This is worse than a further reversion to the state. We have to go back to the table and look at the budget again,” she said. Neal instructed principals to go on and use their funding for instructional supplies. “They need that,” she said.

Neal has also completed the Leandro Plan for the year. The district has made it’s request for funds under the Leandro lawsuit it won six years ago against the state. Judge Howard Manning ruled the state had to pay more money to poor rural counties to facilitate their upholding a child’s constitutional rights to a basic education. Neal said she’s waiting approval.

Neal said she considered a possible increase in charter school dollars coming out of the budget this year when she put it together. Neal said sure enough, that came true. “It’s not near as much as I put in,” she said. “The cushion there is good.” Neal smiled and continued with her report.

Neal said there are concerns about 2007-08 and 2008-09 audits, but they should still be out by the end of October and in February respectively. “I hope we get them done before then,”  she said. Neal said the 2008-09 will be the first full fledged audit the district has been able to accomplish in many years. She said she continues working closely with the auditing firm.