06/02/2024
Pamlico’s County Parents: Don’t miss this important meeting on Monday night at the Pamlico Co Courthouse at 7p.
The county’s budget is incredibly tight. Cuts have been made across the board and there’s still a large deficit.
When I was asked to support a $1 million cut to our schools, I said no. When I was asked to support a $500,000 cut, I said no. When I was asked if I would support a $300,000 cut, I said no. Three commissioners said yes.
The schools have already cut $900,000 from their budget in preparation for this lean year. Additional cuts will affect students and programs.
We are a small district. We are a small county. On Monday night, there will be people that will speak up that believe that means our kids should be saddled with a $1m budget cut.
The future of this county is in our schools and in our people. Please come out and speak up for your kids and for the teachers and coaches that made you a Hurricane.
Please take a moment to read this very important message from Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Johnson.
Good afternoon.
I am writing today with an important request. As you know, we have been meeting with our county commissioners over the last several weeks regarding the local budget for Pamlico County Schools. I attended another budget meeting last night and to my dismay discovered that there are multiple commissioners who feel that our schools do not need to be funded properly. Specifically, they are considering no increase in our funding even though we have shown repeatedly that with inflation we are not able to maintain our current services. In addition, some commissioners have also voiced a desire to cut an additional $500,000 to $1,000,000 from our budget. Obviously, we cannot sustain this level of cuts to our budget and the commissioners need to hear from us.
On June 3rd, the County Commissioners will hold another meeting and I am requesting that you and your staff make plans to attend. I know that it is relatively short notice, but we need as many of our staff, parents, and students to attend as possible. (Our regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday June 4th at 6pm.)
The Commissioners' meeting begins at 7:00 pm at the Pamlico County Courthouse.
It has been my sincerest hope to build a positive, amicable relationship with the commissioners, and that is still my goal. We ALL have so much to lose if we cannot develop and maintain a relationship built on trust, mutual respect, and a shared vision for education in this county. However, friends can disagree and I strenuously disagree with some of the things I heard at last night's meeting. Our children deserve better and we must be their advocates.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I appreciate each of you.
Respectfully,
Dr. Jeremy Johnson
Superintendent of Pamlico County Schools
