Historically, Haywood County Schools has run a tight ship in the face of slim county appropriations. Last year, it pulled from its own fund balance to finance operations; in 2022, it cut 36 positions.
But for the coming academic year, Superintendent Trevor Putnam made a dire case for additional funding. Any further cuts, he said, would deny HCS students a quality education.
The extra $3 million he’d requested from commissioners wouldn’t finance anything new or fancy — instead, it would be a lifeline.
“There’s lots of ways to save money, but at what cost?” he asked commissioners at an April 20 meeting.
On May 4, HCS received less than half of what it had requested. Commissioners, however, didn’t fully embrace frugality with their 7-cent property tax hike, most of the revenue from which will have little to do with education. Instead, of those seven cents, 3.8 — about the equivalent needed to fully fund the district — will go toward expanding the Haywood County Detention Center.
Indeed 2.3 of those 3.8 cents have been specifically appropriated to paying back county debt from the expansion. Another 1.7 cents have been allotted to Medicaid and SNAP in the face of a litany of federal funding cuts. For example, Haywood County will be forced to pay an added $411,472 to administer SNAP benefits. Finally, 1.5 cents were reserved for the school system.
Additionally, 43 new positions were requested among 10 departments, including but not limited to the wellness clinic, EMS, emergency management, library, 911 emergency operations center and school system. Only 17 were approved across two departments: nine for health and human services agency social services — and eight for the detention center.
Former HCS parent and current Haywood County taxpayer Angie Schwab said her kids benefited immensely from music and art programs like band, which are at risk of being gutted. More generally, she explained why education is so important.
“I think that sometimes people forget that having strong public schools is directly connected to economic development, and people choose this community over surrounding communities because the rating of Haywood County Schools and the workforce program,” she said.
Empirical evidence points to a direct connection between education and the economy. Citing multi-state and state-specific studies, the North Carolina Association of Educators asserts that “sustained investments in public education are associated with improved academic outcomes, higher graduation rates, and greater long-term economic mobility, with the largest gains from low-income backgrounds and communities of color.”
While Schwab considers herself “pro-law enforcement,” she said disinvesting in education in favor of a larger jail harms the wider community.
“And really,” she said, “schools are the best form of public safety.”
Many economists agree that crime reduction is one outcome of comprehensive investment in public education. A University of Michigan study documenting two student groups from elementary school into adulthood found that “students who attended better-funded schools were 15% less likely to be arrested through age 30.”
Schwab said she’s far from the only parent or taxpayer up in arms about the commissioners’ funding prioritization.
“People are thinking about that past decision to build a jail and criticizing that,” she said. As for supporting educational opportunities for future generations, she said “that’s [the commissioners’] job, and if they don’t want to do it, then I’m sure other counties would be happy to.”