Despite several cutbacks in state funding, the Troup County school system almost managed to break even on its 2008-09 budget.

Chief financial officer Don Miller showed a final deficit of $140,062 out of a $99,134,000 budget, or about 96.5 percent of the original budget.

“Basically, we broke even,” he said at Monday’s school board caucus meeting.

The deficit amounted to about 3 percent of the total budget.

For the largest percent changes, the school system used an additional $137,000 on psychological services and $153,000 on instructional services in special education, or an additional 29.5 percent and 47.6 percent, respectively. Funds from the Individual with Disabilities Education Act didn’t cover what the system projected to be needed for both services, Miller said.

The superintendent’s office budget had an overrun of $72,000, or 18 percent, due to a consultant’s contract that closed out at about $40,000 and a few national agencies that were utilized for information.

“All in all, with all the cuts and everything that we had to deal with, revenue being down, almost a little bit over 3.5 percent, we were able to keep the budget relatively in balance,” Miller said.

The July financial report, the first of the 2009-10 budget year, shows 4.9 percent of the estimated revenue being received and 7.6 percent being expended.

That ratio is typical for the month of July, Miller said, as county property taxes have yet to be collected.

The year’s budget is about $104 million.

Also Monday, the board heard of a report on the pre-K program from pre-K coordinator Jacqueline Jones.

“All of (our programs) are filled, and they stay full,” Jones said. “We have no problem filling our seats.”

Georgia’s pre-K program was ranked third in the nation by the National Institute for Early Education Research in New Brunswick, N.J.

The local program, which serves 23 classrooms throughout the county, has about 460 students enrolled with 150 on the waiting list.

They’re not being left out in the cold, however.

“If you look at all of the privately funded pre-K classes that we have in Troup County, they can serve 180 students,” Jones said,” so if there’re students out there who are not in our schools, there is space for them in a lottery-funded program.”

The lottery-funded programs at private centers are paid for by the state, but do not provide transportation.

Jones and her team are attempting to have their pre-K program included in a state identification program which began the 2008-09 school year. If accepted, Troup County pre-K students will become part of an Internet program that tracks their individual progress from pre-K through 12th grade.

“Right now, the state of Georgia doesn’t have any way to hone in all that data,” she said.

The IDs help the state see how the efforts of their resource coordinators affect the students.

Coordinators provide information on job skill training or job openings as well as literacy and GED classes for parents, facilitate kindergarten readiness and parent workshops, and link families with agencies that deal with basic necessities like health services and housing. They also refer to agencies for assessment or treatment of problems that might hinder a child’s learning while in school.

“We haven’t been chosen to pilot that, but I have asked our consultant if they would consider allowing us to do that,” she said.

The system has also set up academic pre-K coaches in each zone to assist other teachers. LaGrange zone’s Beth Adcock, Troup zone’s Lisa Buckingham and Callaway zone’s Leslie Rogers provide support for teachers working with the young students.

“We have one academic person who has been doing pre-K for many, many years that will assist teachers, especially new teachers, on what they need to do in the classroom.”

Also Monday, the board pushed its Thursday meeting to 5:30 p.m. Monday due to a scheduling conflict.

Trey Wood can be reached at twood@lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.