BAY MINETTE — Tough economic times call for belt-tightening – and the Baldwin County Board of Education trimmed about $15 million from last year’s budget.

Chief financial officer John Wilson said this year’s $258 million budget is conservative for a number of reasons. In addition to a sluggish global economy, Baldwin County school officials are holding their collective breath until the November vote on a 1-cent sales tax for schools.

“When making out the budget, we took a conservative approach and said the penny tax would only go through May, generating about $17.5 million,” said Wilson. “That figure would be $26 million if extended through the end of the year. But we will have to wait until the vote in November.”

He noted that all capital projects have been put on hold until the November referendum. That will free up money, should the measure fail.

The Baldwin County Public Schools have more than 29,000 students attending class. It takes a lot of work, a lot of employees and a lot of money to keep the school doors open across the county. The state of Alabama contributes around $122 million, with federal funds accounting for another $23 million. The other $114 million in revenue comes from local sources, primarily sales taxes and ad valorem property taxes.

On the expense side, the bulk of the money, $171 million or 66.3 percent, will go directly into the classrooms for instructional services and instructional support services. The purchase of textbooks will cost $887,000 and another $455,000 will make sure there are school nurses on hand.

The lengthy budget is subdivided to include 44 individual school budgets. As expected, the seven high schools top those sub-budgets. Foley High School tops the list at $9.15 million, followed by Fairhope at $7.65 million and Robertsdale ($7.25 million). On the other end of the scale, it will only cost $5.32 million to operate Gulf Shores High School, while Spanish Fort High School will run $5.95.

A handful of large elementary schools will require more funds than the smallest high schools. Foley Elementary will require $7.63 million by itself. The elementaries in Robertsdale and Fairhope have budgets of $6.54 million and $6.15 million; respectively.

The board just had a quorum when it approved the budget unanimously Thursday. Of the seven board members, only Frank Trione, Elmer McDaniel, Angie Swiger and Norm Moore were present.