The Lincoln County School System will be operating under a Flex Focus Spending Freeze until further notice.

The following flex focus budgets are affected:

• Extended School Services

• Family Resource & Youth Service Centers

• Preschool

•Professional Development

• Safe Schools

• Textbooks

The spending freeze is necessary to help our district withstand anticipated state funding cuts of up to 17.4% for this school year.

Commissioner Pruitt informed superintendents that Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding will not be affected but to anticipate cuts in flex focus.  Any plans schools had for flex focus funds are on hold until Commissioner Pruitt announces the Kentucky Department of Education’s revised budget.

There is also a strong possibility that changes to both the Teacher’s Retirement System (TRS) and County Employees Retirement System (CERS) will pile additional financial liabilities on the district. One potential scenario is a merger of the retirement systems for teachers and support workers, which could cost the district as much as $600,000 per year.

School districts across the state are finalizing working budgets for this school year and the uncertainty coming from the state is making the task extremely difficult.

While making mid-year reductions is not a popular option, the Student Support Center must make safe financial decisions for our students.