The lack of a budget from the state legislature is causing problems for local schools.

Todd LoFrese, Assistant Superintendent with the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City School system, says there are many unanswered questions with the school year rapidly approaching.

“While, the General Assembly passed a temporary budget bill that allows the state to continue operations,” he says, “it doesn’t give us clarity around many of the things that we need to know about.

“And so it’s disappointing because it forces us to open school with a lot of unknowns.”

LoFrese says the highest priorities being put on hold by the lack of a budget agreement are salary increases, the driver’s education program, and funding for teacher assistants.

LoFrese says the assistants are critical for classroom success, in particular for the new teachers in the district.

“The misconception is that they just help out by making copies or collecting paperwork,” he says. “The reality is that they’re an instrumental support for our kids and for our students.

“And they support the teachers in so many different ways, whether it’s helping facilitate small group instruction [or] allowing a teacher to work with one group of kids while the teacher assistant is working with a different group of kids on a similar or different lesson.”

LoFrese adds the degree of variance between the two chambers of the legislature is making it very challenging to count on a certain amount of funding to go into the new academic year.

“The House and the Senate are in such different camps, in terms of their ideas around public education,” he says, “that it makes it very difficult to make assumptions about what the final product would be.

“Our approach, and we discussed this with the school board last month, is to hold on filling some positions at all of the school levels.”

Positions being held open include two teacher assistants at every elementary school district-wide and leaving some instructional support positions open at the middle and high schools in the system.

These positions operate on year-to-year contracts for employees. That translates to 22 teacher assistants who are awaiting word on whether they will have a position in the classroom later this month.

LoFrese says the district will accept enrollees in the driver’s ed program, but they will be alerting families a fee may be associated with the class if the funding is not provided by the state.

He adds once a budget is in place, the school system will work to act quickly to implement any changes.

“Depending on what those items are and where things end up,” he says, “we might be able to bring some people back right away.

“If it is on, perhaps, the more negative side, in terms of where things end up, we may need a Board of Education meeting before doing that.”

While there is a cloud of negativity and frustration with so many unknown factors leading into the school year, LoFrese says there is still excitement to welcome the students back.

“From the budget standpoint, it’s disappointing, and it’s discouraging,” he says. “Schools are having to organize and plan to do without services and support that we feel are really important.

“But in terms of the start of the school year, the kids and the staff all coming back into the buildings, it brings so much energy and so much excitement. Those smiling faces, the excited voices, the kids who are back from their summer vacation ready to learn, ready to grow – it’s a wonderful thing.”

The continuing resolution passed by the legislature will keep the government operating through August 31.

The first day of class in the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City School District is Monday, August 24.