CHAPEL HILL - The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board unanimously approved about $350,000 in recommended local budget reductions Thursday night to offset a shortfall in state funding.

The district faces a total state funding decrease of about $6.2 million after the General Assembly passed its budget. Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed the budget, but the General Assembly was able to override her veto.

The district will face $3.4 million in discretionary cuts (an $827,830 increase over the previous year). Many of the items covered under those cuts have not been funded in the past, so there would be little impact on operations. There were also $450,000 in cuts to N.C. Virtual Public Schools and the More at Four program.

District administrators have recommended moving approximately $2.4 million in state-funded expenses to the local budget to help the rest of the shortfall. Administrators recommend using approximately $2.6 million in local fund balance (which meets the board's target of using 40 percent of fund balance this year), as well as making approximately $350,000 in local budget cuts.

Because the state budget is passed every two years, board member Shell Brownstein noted that these cuts will continue into the next year, meaning the board may face using a large amount of fund balance again.

"We don't know what the state or county will do next year," board Chair Jamezetta Bedford said. "We're just delaying the cliff."

The local budget cuts approved Thursday include elimination of a psychologist position, a half-time exceptional children curriculum leader position, a half-time pre-K secretary position, and a print shop position. They also include reductions in differentiated pay stipends, lead proficiency stipends, Leadership Academy dues, and Thematic Academy stipends.

Recommended also was reduction of one custodial staff position at the central office. Board member Annetta Streater raised concerns about how the cleanliness of the building could affect morale on an already strained staff, and asked to remove that cut from consideration. Board members agreed with her.

Overall, the board expressed satisfaction with the proposed strategy for addressing the state budget cuts.

"My inclination is to say this is darn close, from my perspective," said board member Mia Burroughs.

Board member Jean Hamilton agreed, saying, "I think it's definitely in the right direction."

The board will continue to look at cuts in response to state and local funding decisions and pass a final budget this summer after the final numbers come in.