AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2007 > May > 15
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A Budget Riddle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Investigative reporters are always admonished to: “Follow the money.” I don’t know where the saying came from, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Deep Throat had said it to Bob Woodward in a darkened alley.
I’ve been thinking about that phrase ever since I read Diane Stepp’s article last week about Cobb County School System’s new $908 million operating budget, which is expected to grow by more than $58 million next year.
If that sounds like a lot, consider the growth in Gwinnett County Public Schools’ new $1.2 billion general fund budget, which will be up by more than $69 million in fiscal 2008, and Atlanta Public Schools’ proposed $620 million budget, which is projected to jump by more than $37 million.
In all cases, the annual increase of the operating budget amounts to about 6 percent or so — pretty typical for what I’ve seen in metro Atlanta school systems previously.
But the situation in each of these systems is very different. Gwinnett, the state’s largest school system, expects to gain more than 7,000 new students next school year, while Cobb, the second-largest, is expecting a considerable slowdown in enrollment growth — from about 1,500 new pupils per year to fewer than 750.
The size of Atlanta’s student body, as most of you know, has been shrinking for years.
So now the riddle, which I really am stumped about: How is it that each system, regardless of enrollment pattern, has a budget that is growing — and not only growing, but growing at virtually the same rate?
