Henderson County Public School Board approves $108 million interim 2022-2023 budget

Christian Smith, Hendersonville Times-News
·2 min read

The Henderson County Public School Board approved a $108 million interim budget for the 2022-2023 school year at a special called end-of-year business meeting on June 30.

A formal Initial Budget Resolution still needs to be adopted, but the interim budget allows the school district to operate until details for implementation of the State, Local and Federal budgets are finalized, according to the resolution.

According to Chief Finance Officer Bernie Sochia, the formal approval should happen sooner rather than later. He said last year, the formal approval was not voted on until the middle of the year, but this year the vote is expected sooner.

More: Henderson County commissioners approve $180.1M budget for 2022-23 fiscal year

The budget appropriates about $47.1 million from the State Public School Fund, $16.1 million from the Local Current Expense Fund, $34.0 million from the Federal Grants Fund, $7.7 million from the Enterprise Fund, $1.8 million from the Capital Outlay Fund, and $1.7 million from Other Restricted Funds.

Before the interim budget was approved, Superintendent John Bryant spent his last day on the job honoring several employees leaving Henderson County Public Schools, including Assistant Superintendent Wendy Frye.

More: McDowell's Garrett to succeed Bryant as Henderson County Public Schools Superintendent

"In education, we talk about exemplars. We talk about what the example looks like that you should model yourself after, that you should try to embody, that you should try to become," Bryant said. "Dr. Wendy Frye is the exemplar. She is what it is supposed to be. She is among the most professional, conscientious, thoughtful, caring and dedicated educators I have ever known."

Frye retires from the school district in August.

Bryant is taking on the role of Vice President of Workforce Development and Community Affairs at Pardee UNC Health. His successor is Mark Garrett, who was the superintendent for McDowell County Schools.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: School Board approves $108 million interim 2022-2023 budget