news-record.com

Guilford County Schools could lose at least $2 million in state funding for the 2008-09 academic year, based on the latest edition of the North Carolina budget.

State educators warned district finance officers by e-mail Monday that the Department of Public Instruction might have to withhold $50 million to cover shortfalls in teacher bonuses and diesel fuel funding. Individual school systems would lose $19,000 to $4.7 million, according to the message.

The state Board of Education held an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the state budget.

"I don't want to declare doom at this point but I wanted to sound an alarm and warning that we're headed in the wrong direction," Chairman Howard Lee said.

North Carolina pays both the bulk of districts' fuel costs and bonuses to teachers whose students perform well on state exams.

Philip Price , associate state superintendent, said that the newest budget leaves a shortfall of $37 million in bonus funding and $30 million for fuel. The budget hole could grow if the diesel price the state has to pay surpasses an average $4.08 per gallon, Price said.

In comparison, the state budgeted its 2007-08 share of diesel costs at $1.69 per gallon, Price said.

Officials with Guilford County Schools could not be reached Tuesday afternoon for details on the potential budget's impact.

But the district's diesel fuel costs have skyrocketed in the past five years, from $1.2 million in 2004 to an estimated $4.2 million this year.

"We've all been worried about the fuel situation all along," said Dot Kearns, a member of the Guilford County Board of Education. "I'm surprised that (the committee) would leave it that short."

The board plans to discuss the budget at its regular meeting Thursday, including possibly adopting an interim budget of $165.2 million.

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or morgan.josey@news-record.com