By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE fiscal and personnel affairs committee of the Board of Education on Tuesday approved the proposed $43 million budget for the Public School System in fiscal year 2008, which starts on Oct. 1.
The figure is $4.6 million more than the current appropriation of $38.6 million for the system’s 20 public schools and over 11,600 students.
Chaired by BOE member Lucy Blanco-Maratita, the committee approved the proposed budget after acting PSS finance director and federal programs officer Tim Thornburgh made a presentation on how the budget will be spent.
He said $35 million will be used for personnel; $4 million, utilities; $1.2 million, textbooks; and $1.8 million, school operations.
In the current fiscal year, PSS projects it will spend $6 million for utilities. For FY 2008, PSS wants to reduce this figure by $2 million.
According to Thornburgh, their budget proposal was based on a financial study conducted by PSS.
“The next process now will be for the board to act on it and then we will transmit it to the Office of Management and Budget and the governor’s office,” Thornburg told Variety yesterday.
The governor will then consider the PSS proposal in preparing the government’s FY 2008 budget bill that he will submit to the Legislature for approval.