In a called meeting held on May 11, and following a closed door session for personnel purposes, the Appling County Board of Education voted to cut the art and ROTC programs from the Appling County School System. Following the closed door session Superintendent Sam Herndon made a recommendation to cut the programs and a motion was made by Board Member M.C. Barlow, seconded by Board Member Joyce Tillman, to approve the recommendation. The motion carried with a 4-0 vote with board members Barlow, Tillman, Minnie Barnes and Chairperson Janie Carter voting in favor of the motion. Board Member H.F. Johnson was not present at the meeting.

The News-Banner spoke with Herndon on Wednesday morning and he explained that the board has several tough decisions to make concerning this year’s budget. The superintendent explained that due to current economic conditions less revenue will be available this year for education and noted that Appling County is not the only system suffering the effects of a bad economy, but systems across the state have had to make similar difficult decisions. The superintendent pointed out that the Savannah-Chatham County School Board announced last week that 23 employees would be cut, and the district expects to cut a total of 234 jobs by June. Herndon reported that the board of education was going to have to reduce its budget approximately $1.5 million this year alone.

The board is projecting $27,534,748.00 in revenue for FY2010 and the current projected expenditures are $29,762,986.00. This would leave a shortfall of $1,429,761.00. According to the board the total cost of the Appling County High School’s ROTC program is $143,172.00 of which the Air Force reimburses the program $56,000.00, for a balance of $87,172.00 funded by local funds. It was also reported that the art program costs the county approximately $341,000.00 annually.

As a result of this decision seven Appling County School System employees will be released following the end of this school year (June 30), two in ROTC and five in art.

Board officials also pointed out that Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) revenues are down, which is another indication that the economy is having an impact on tax revenues. When the current ESPLOST was voted on and approved the projected monthly revenue from the tax was $300,000.00. In January of this year the board only received $207,000.00 and in March the amount collected was $221,000.00. Of course this rate varies depending on the time of the year, such as during the Christmas shopping months, but overall a substantial reduction has been noticed in the amount of sales tax revenue.

There have been numerous telephone calls to this newspaper about the decision made by the board of education. Most have been in opposition of the decision. This newspaper has explained that the board could either stand by its decision or raise taxes or find other areas to cut in order to keep these programs in place.

The News-Banner spoke with Appling County Tax Commissioner Debra Carter about the possibility of the board raising its millage rate and she explained that if the board were to decide to raise its millage by one mil it would generate $600,000.00 in tax revenue. The board’s current millage rate is 14.67. Looking at in simple terms it would actually take less than one mil to save these programs since the total cost for the programs is approximately $428,000.00. If a decision like this was made, what would it cost a county taxpayer? Carter explained that if an Appling County property owner has property valued at $100,000.00 and if the board were to make a decision to raise taxes to fund the programs it would cost the property owner around $40.00 per year on their tax bill. But remember, as stated above, the board will have to continue to search out ways to cut even more from this year’s budget to keep from exhausting any and all potential reserves.

This newspaper also spoke with the Appling County Arts Council about the decision and Executive Director Karen Tharpe stated that the council has agreed to support keeping the art programs in the school system in any way that the council can.

The News-Banner has also received a petition that has been started in the community concerning art in the system. The petition reads as follows:

“KEEP THE ARTS IN OUR SCHOOLS!

The Appling County Board of Education is proposing to eliminate the art programs in our schools. Our children will suffer if the arts are taken out of the curriculum. Many children need the arts as a way to express themselves. The arts are a creative and emotional outlet for students. Arts education serves as a way to reach many students. Students learn more about themselves and others through the arts. There are many other ways to balance the budget in our system rather than eliminating art teachers. The future of America has often been viewed brightly because of the creativity of the American people. Creative problem solving in a changing world allows our future citizens the skills they will need to cope with and adjust to new environments.

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act states that comprehensive, sequential study of the arts is an essential part of the education of every child. The arts are an indispensable part of a decent, rigorous education. They are a powerful factor in motivating student interest in school. Arts participation takes many forms and confers a wide range of benefits on both individuals and communities.

Please sign this petition so that the Board of Education knows that our citizens care about this issue, and want to keep our children exposed to the arts in our schools.”