Atlanta schools poised to pass $658M budget

The Atlanta school board plans to vote Monday on next year’s $658 million budget, a plan that increases spending by $63 million compared to this year.

The budget includes $15 million for pay raises, $4.5 million to eliminate three furlough days and $71 million for charter schools, an increase of $29 million over last year’s budget because of rising charter school enrollment and an upswing in tax revenue.

The budget relies on spending $25 million from reserve funds, which are projected to have a balance of $83 million at the start of the 2014-2015 fiscal year.