89% of Oconee school spending are personnel costs

When you factor in what it costs for salaries and employee insurance costs, there’s relatively little left to pay the remainder of the bills for operating Oconee County public schools. Last night Gloria Moore, the district finance director, reminded the County Council that personnel costs eat up nearly 90% of the budget. Moore presented bottom line numbers for the council to consider for the local effort to fund education for another year. The intent, she said, at the outset last night is to avoid requesting any kind of millage rate increase. As currently written, there’s a $2.9 million hole in the budget, but the district intends to draw from its $20 million fund balance to fill it.