Gaston County Commissioners voted Tuesday to transfer $10 million from the county's fund balance to Gaston County Schools, after the school district revealed it was facing a $10 million hole in its current-year budget.
Superintendent Morgen Houchard told the county that without the emergency funding, he would have had to lay off 400 people starting this week. It was a situation commissioners described as "unprecedented" for the county and “severe.”
Houchard said that the district had already eliminated 83 positions ahead of this school year, and as the cash flow problems became apparent, the district instituted hiring and spending freezes.
The district also hired a consultant, which attributed several short- and long-term financial factors that led to the shortfall: a reduction in low-wealth supplemental funds provided by the state, which came two months into the school year; inflation; the loss of federal pandemic-relief funding in recent years; and “staffing levels not aligned with declining financial resources.”
Houchard also said he’d been assured during last year's budget process by a “trusted, long-term employee” that the budget would be balanced by year’s end.
“Four months into the school year, I began to question if this information was correct,” Houchard said. “And it was not.”
Still, Houchard said he took full responsibility for the situation.
“I take full responsibility for this,” he told the commissioners. “I fully understand the magnitude of this situation. I understand the position I am putting you in with this request. I wish I did not have to be here today with this situation, and I can assure you I never will again.”
Commissioners expressed frustration over the situation but ultimately believed it was preferable to allowing the layoffs.
“At the end of the day, we have to do what’s right for all the people that we serve in our county,” said Commissioner Cathy Cloninger. “And this hurts. I mean, it really, really does. It hurts my heart that this is happening and that we’re having to take funds to use, maybe, perhaps even away from something else. But it’s necessary to support our schools.”
