Despite a more than $100,000 cut in federal funding, the Covington County School board passed a $28.7 million budget for the next fiscal year.

“Our federal funds are considerably less than they were four or five years ago,” Superintendent Shannon Driver said. “We use our federal funds for all salary. We feel we can get the most benefits that way.”

The system saw:

• a decrease of $3,276 in IDEA-Part B funding, which is earmarked for special education;

• a decrease of $36 in IDEA-Preschool Part B funding;

• a decrease of $6,992 in basic grant and Career Technical Education money;

• a decrease of $88,651 in Title I, Part A, which is money for schools with high numbers of high percentages of children from low-income families to ensure they are meeting challenging state academic standards;

• a decrease of $2,629 in Title II, Part A teacher training funds.

Covington County Schools Chief Financial Officer Ressie Gray said an effort was made to budget fewer expenditures to make up the difference.

Federal funds for the year total $2.8 million, or 10 percent of the budget.

Highlights of the $18.9 million in state funding include:

• $152,467 for school nurses, which is an increase of $418;

• $16,736 for career tech operations and maintenance, which is a decrease of $2,514;

• $254,250 for the Alabama Reading Initiative, which is an increase of $25;

• $257 for English as a second language, which is an increase of $160;

• $245,700 for OSR Pre-K grant, which is an increase of $165,600. Straughn Elementary School and Pleasant Home School both received new Pre-K programs;

• $746,391 for capital purchases, which is an increase of $30,078;

• $34,999 for a technology coordinator, an increase of $7,153;

• $1.7 million for transportation operations, which is a $21,245 decrease;

• $299,971 in fleet renewal money, which is an increase of $23,971;

• $9,893 in preschool money, which is a decrease of $3,986;

• $100,812 for at risk, which is an increase of $18,373;

• $15,334,678 in funding from the state’s foundation program of the education trust fund, which is an increase of $231,742.

Gray said that the state student material allocation for the next fiscal year is $373.78 per teacher, which is up $63.78 over the current budget year.

Additionally, the system received classroom instructional support funds for the first time since FY08.

The money will be split up among the schools based on teacher units. The total for the money is more than $30,000 for technology, library enhancement and professional development.

The system will employ 397 employees, and projected enrollment is 3,062 students, which is down from 3,145 last year.