Dublin Considers 10-Day Teacher Furloughs

Dublin education officials meet at 6 p.m. to vote on 10-day teacher furloughs for the 2012-13 school year, says school superintendent Dr. Chuck Ledbetter.

"We've dealt for years with austerity cuts from the state," Ledbetter tells 13WMAZ.

This spring, the district eliminated eight jobs through attrition. 

He says there were no furloughs for Dublin city schools in the 2011-12 school year, but that unexpected cuts in state funding may require it now. 

Since 2008, he says the district has managed $7.5 million in cuts from the state but they face new trouble because Laurens County has not had a new tax assessment since 2000.

A 2009 assessment was thrown out after complaints and a state law prevents any new assessment for three years after one is thrown out.

Ledbetter says Dublin schools face a $1.1 million loss of funding from the state because of the resulting sales ratio calculation. 

Critics point out that, despite the district's budget woes, the superintendent  received a $40,000 raise in the spring.

At a salary of $175,000 a year, Ledbetter says he still makes less now than the previous superintendent, whom he replaced in 2009. And, at the time of his raise, his wife, who worked as a Dublin media specialist, was let go. 

Monday's meeting was moved from the school board offices to Dublin High School's auditorium to accommodate a larger crowd. 

"We're trying to be real transparent," Ledbetter says. "We want to explain our financial situation."