Guilford School Board Approves Budget That Incudes TA Cuts, Sports Fee

A new budget for Guilford County Schools will mean fewer teacher assistants and a $45 fee to play sports.

The Guilford County Board of Education voted Thursday to pass a roughly $664 million operating budget for the 2017-18 school year. That's about a 2.5 percent increase over the previous year's budget.

The budget was approved on an 8-0 vote, with one board member absent.

The Greensboro News & Record reports the budget plan calls for 51 of the district's nearly 500 teaching assistant positions to be cut.

It also institutes a $45 per year athletic fee that can be waived for economically disadvantaged students.

Another measure calls for the closing of High School Ahead Academy.

School officials say money saved by closing the academy will to go toward expanding opportunities for students to take online courses.