This is the time of year that school districts prepare their budgets for the 2008-2009 school year. On Thursday, Durham County citizens will have the chance to speak out on their proposed budget.

The Durham Board of Education's public hearing to receive public comment on the Superintendent's 2008-2009 Budget Proposal begins at 6:30 p.m. in room 307 of the Fuller Administration Building Board Room on Cleveland Street.

The total proposed school budget for Durham is $401.2 million. This includes a request for more funds for pre-kindergarten classes as well as four social workers for the high schools.

The board plans to present the proposed budget to the county commissioners on May 15.

Wake County school board members are holding work sessions to review a proposed budget that will be presented to the county commissioners on May 19. 

Wake's school budget totals more than $1.9 billion and could include special programs for English as a second language academy in the high schools and more school resource officers to assist with gang prevention programs.

Orange County PTA Thrift Shops

As most school districts continue to look for creative sources for funds, Orange County has one that has pulled in $5 million for education in the last few years.

For more than 50 years, Orange County PTAs received funds from the area PTA thrift shops.  

The stores got their start in 1952 as a way to supports the Carrboro and Chapel Hill PTAs. This past fall, more than $200,000 was distributed to the PTAs. The money is divvied up to the schools based on percentage of students and number of volunteer hours the PTA has put into the shops.

Valecia Jones, operations manager, said "Some days the thrift shop is busier than the mall." Jones has worked for the thrift stores for 26 years. She said meeting the people is the best part of the job. There is always "Something new and exciting every single day." According to Jones, the community support is the reason the stores are so successful. "People dropping off things to sell and people coming to buy." Best selling items include women's clothing and furniture.

The school system in Orange County is a divided one. The Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools have approved their budget for 2008-09. That budget is not online yet. According to reports from the school system the budget requests an increase of $6,816,122 over last year's funding level.

Other schools in Orange County are not supported by the thrift shops and receive funding from the school board that is requesting $23 million from the county. The Orange County School budget request includes additional funds for raising achievement and closing gaps.

Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps

Once the budgets have been created, schools focus on programs that include ones that raise achievement and close gaps.

On Thursday, David Holdzkom, Assistant Superintendent of Evaluation/Research and Marvin Connelly, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services, will present strategies from the Curriculum Management Audit. The information includes ways to reduce discipline problems that pull children out of the classroom and away from learning.

The program is part of Wake Education Partnerships' Roundtable series. This session is sponsored by Garner and Fuquay-Varina Chambers of Commerce and will be held at Eagle Ridge Golf Course .  Session runs from 12 to 1:30 p.m. and does include lunch. There is a $10 fee. Registration for this event is required and can be done online here.

Drop Everything and Read Day

Parents can help close the literacy gap by participating in National Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day.

This year's event is on April 12 and honors children's author Beverly Cleary. According to the D.E.A.R. Web site, Cleary included a passage about the DEAR program in "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" (pages 40-41) after she received numerous letters from readers who mentioned the great reading program they were doing in class. It seemed like something Ramona's class would do too, so she put it in the book.

Some ideas for families include visiting the library together and picking out books to read.

Compare books with the movie versions. Horton Hears a Who is a good one to start with for most families. Or even better, have a Drop Everything and Read theme party and invite the neighborhood kids.

For more school events and parenting ideas, visit the Precision Parenting Blog.