---

Last  Friday, Lincoln County Commissioners held another in their series of budget workshops preparing for the fiscal 2024-2025 budget.  At a joint session with the Board of Education in mid-March, Commissioners heard a request from the schools for $6.1 million more than they got in fiscal 2024.  

At Friday's session, Commissioner Jamie Lineberger made a motion to give the schools an additional $5.5 million.  That motion failed on a 3-2 vote when Commissioner Cathy Davis and Lineberger voted yes, but the other commissioners voted no.

At Monday night's (April 15th) mid-monthly meeting, Lineberger made a motion to give the schools another $4.5 million; but Commission chairman Carrol Mitchem offered a substitute motion to give the schools the full amount for which they had asked.  

"I've given this a lot of thought over the weekend," Mitchem said, "and I've decided we should give them all they asked."

Lineberger then amended his motion, and he, Mitchem and Davis voted to give the schools the $6.1 million.  

"They say they need the money," Mitchem told us Tuesday morning.  "You know I've always been the one to vote to hold the line on taxes, but I've heard so much about how our county isn't providing the schools what they want, and I'm hopeful that with the additional money, we'll move up the ladder a bit in terms of local funding for schools and that the schools will put the money to good use and improve how we rank in academic outcomes."

Mitchem, who has served longer than any other Commissioner, lost his bid for re-election in the March GOP Primary.  The decision may provide his legacy--being the swing vote to increase school funding.  

"We've spent a lot of money on other things," Mitchem said.  "We've increased funding for the Sheriff's Office and brought their equipment up to date.  We've added another office for them in the growing East  Lincoln area.

"We got a new West Lincoln library and we've now approved proceeding with a new one for East Lincoln (commissioners approved purchase of land for that facility at their Monday night meeting).  We built a new Emergency Services Center and before that we builit a new upgraded Communcations Center and built the new courthouse--which we had to do to meet the requirements of the courts.  We're going to expand the Animal Services facility.I decided it's time we fully funded the schools--give them (the Board of Education) what they wanted and see what they can accomplish with it!"  

---

---