Area schools are continuing to feel the crunch of tough economic times as they look at contract renewals for staff members including teachers, teaching assistants and clerical staff.

In Mount Airy, several positions are being eliminated, although officials are hopeful most, if not all, will be addressed by not filling positions left vacant because of retirements and resignations.

Surry County has fared better so far, not eliminating any positions, although that could yet happen in the coming budget year.

With the state already asking for reversions of state money from the school system budgets and implementing a spending freeze, the General Assembly is now discussing projected cuts of more than 11 percent. This has forced school systems across the state to cut wherever possible, even if those cuts may affect students.

The Mount Airy City school system hoped to address these issues and the need to decrease the number of staff with resignations and retirements. For the most part, they were able to do so.

“This reduction has affected nine licensed positions, two teacher assistant positions and a clerical position,” said Dr. Darrin Hartness, superintendent. “We have addressed many of the necessary personnel reductions with retirements and resignations. We eliminated the SRO position at Mount Airy Middle School earlier in the year.”

These reductions have impacted all four city schools as well as the central office. When the budget situation with the state begins to improve, Hartness hopes to be able to rehire some of the people who have been cut.

“The state budget has forced us to eliminate some positions resulting in the loss of some very talented employees,” he said.

While there have been cuts, Hartness is planning to use federal stimulus money to retain three to five other positions for the next two fiscal years. A decline in enrollment and the use of the stimulus money has allowed the school system to make the necessary cuts while still maintaining good class sizes. Hartness said the school system will just have to be creative as it continues to educate the students.

The Surry County school system has thus far been able to avoid eliminating any positions, though the ability to continue to do so rests in the hands of the General Assembly and the budget that is created.

“We haven’t done any of that,” said Dr. Ashley Hinson, superintendent. “Our efforts have been to try to find ways not to have to do that. We are having to move people around some. We hope that is all that has to be done. Everyday it seems like something new. We don’t know where it will all end.”

Millennium Charter Academy also has not had to make any staffing reductions to date. They are even adding a new position to work in the IT department as well as the school’s challenge center. The school anticipates an increase in enrollment in the coming school year but expects to be able to serve that number of students with the same number of staff.

“We are continuing to pay our teachers at their regular level and have not made any cuts,” said Headmaster Kirby McCrary. “We have been impacted by the cuts. Our finance committee, our board and our school leadership have worked together to maintain what we have. The upcoming cuts will impact us in one way or another. We are expecting some sort of reduction.”

The cuts that have been made to date may not be the end of the struggles school systems across the state will face in the coming fiscal year. The proposed budget which is now in the House calls for the elimination of staff development funding, teacher bonus pay and reduced classroom supply, technology and textbook allotments.

“If the final state budget is anywhere close to the proposals in the state House today, it will have a significant negative impact on our school system and we may be forced to make additional personnel adjustments. Since personnel is over 70 percent of our budget, the majority of reductions must come from personnel,” said Hartness. “No one could have ever imagined the state revenues would fall to this level and we would be faced with such drastic cuts at one time.”

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.