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GREENSBORO — After weeks of rolling back cuts to schools, Guilford County Schools sent some money to its central office Tuesday night.

The Board of Education approved $1.9 million in spending.

Most of it will fund 13 administrative positions.

The 9-2 vote didn’t come easily. Many board members said they wanted to use the money to fund more teaching positions.

“I think we need to put some of this money into additional teachers,” board member Kris Cooke said.

“I just want the money to go into the classroom as much as possible.” Cooke went on to vote for the proposal.

Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green and his staff tried to assure the board that their priority was to get as many teachers in classrooms as possible. Last month, the board approved funding 20 additional teachers for schools over their projected enrollments this week. That’s in addition to another $1 million for teachers and other needs that might crop up as the school year progresses.

Green also argued that the proposed administrative positions, though not in schools, will have a direct impact on students and education.

“You do get to a point where our schools do need support,” he said. Green said it was his goal to make sure funding was returned to schools first. However, he said that’s not declaring that schools have been “made whole.”

In fact, board member Darlene Garrett argued some schools are not whole by far.

“The schools did suffer cuts they haven’t fully been refunded,” she said. “I can’t support putting more people back in central office when I could spend the money to put people back in the schools.” Garrett and board member Garth Hebert voted against the proposal.

Hebert said he was concerned the proposal did not withhold enough funding in case the governor asks school districts later this year to return some money to fill a budget gap, which he believes is inevitable.

Gov. Bev Perdue required school districts to return some state money twice last year to help cover a state budget shortfall. Guilford County The budget vote did set aside $3 million for any possible state “givebacks” as well as other unforeseen circumstances, such as an increase in fuel costs.

“I don’t see anything wrong with what you’re asking,” Hebert told Green. “But I’d rather see this $5 million sitting on a shelf in a nice box ready to go back,” rather than have to cut into school budgets.

In other business:

Guilford County Schools officials reported that, so far this year, they have seen 113 cases of students with flulike symptoms similar to H1N1, more commonly known as swine flu.

Officials said the cases have been spread among 40 schools and that six employees so far have been absent after experiencing flulike symptoms.

The cases are all unconfirmed for the H1N1 virus because little testing is being done to verify the strain. However, health officials have said that people with flulike symptoms this time of year likely have H1N1.

School officials have warned that the virus, which has stayed alive at a lower level through the summer, would sicken more people as school resumed.

The district has developed a video to make people aware about the virus and how to take precautions to decrease their exposure.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com