In light of the current budget impasse in the General Assembly, board members agreed to assume a worst-case scenario when planning. Chairman Jerry Kendrick also pointed out the state's and county's simultaneous budget deadline added to the board's difficulty, since the county budget depends on the state budget. This is a much better picture than last year. The schools' budget drew the most attention, as supervisors were unsure how varying student populations would affect local, state, and federal commitments. Both the state and the county estimate the next year's students populations, often coming up with different projections.
Officials then base funding on either estimate.
If the estimates are high or low, the state can adjust its appropriations toward the end of the school year to compensate. Although superintendent Walter Krug and director of business Billy Perrow had attended the meeting to field questions, officials were still unclear about how estimations would affect state, and thus local, budgets. Perrow said that, historically, the discrepancy has always benefited the county, with the state paying more than its actual share. Board members planned to discuss the matter at length at their next regular meeting, with an expert on hand to answer questions in more detail. Carroll explained that, should the county ever cut the library's budget even slightly for any reason, the state had the option of rescinding all funding, which it usually did.