JMCSS asked to cut $6 million from budget

JACKSON, Tenn. — Discussions grow tense as the county’s budget hearings continue.

The big topic at hand during the Madison County budget hearings for the Jackson-Madison County School System was where the district could save money.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the county is telling each department to keep their finances tight.

The school system is attempting to do say, but officials say they’re in a tough spot.

“Positions like educational assistants? Well, you can’t cut them all. Talking about maintenance, you can’t cut them all. You need to be able to maintain your schools, your buildings, and your classrooms,” interim superintendent Ray Washington said.

County officials recommended the school system cut their current budget by $6 million, and cut next year’s budget by over $10 million.

They want the proposals in two weeks.

“I’m telling you that’s not possible. I mean, it is unbelievable to think that it would be possible to cut over $10 million out of next year’s budget and know how to make that happen in a week and a half,” Holly Kellar, the district’s director of fiscal services, said.

The school system says they are required to keep a fund balance of $3 million, so reducing their budget is difficult.

Doug Stephenson pointed to what he called a “duplication of services” as a problem, where the county and school system have people in similar roles and which the county wants consolidated.

“We’ve got an unbelievable amount of duplication of services. I mean, I could sit here till 6:00 tonight and talk about y’all’s duplication as is,” Stephenson, the county’s budget committee chairman, siad.

“I do not like taxpayers to be taxed twice for services,” Karen Bell, Madison County finance director, said.

The school system says some of those positions do different jobs, and the cost is necessary to address issues.

“I’m not going to answer that question because I don’t know what your auditor does. I just know that our auditor works full-time, non-stop. She’s at home working right now,” Kellar said.

Despite the disagreements, both sides know the situation is difficult for everyone and, in the near future, the county will have to look at consolidating duties.

“We are facing the largest shortfall that this county has ever seen because of a nationwide pandemic, and I think it is our responsibility to do the right thing with the dollars that we have,” Bell said.