Smithfield -- The Johnston County Board of Education did not get the funds it wanted from County Commissioners for the fiscal year 2008-09.

County Commissioners approved the revised $180.4 million budget Wednesday. School board members asked for $56.9 million from the county in hopes of raising teacher supplements. County Manager Rick Hester had originally set aside $54.5 million for the schools, a difference of about $2.4 million.

The school board wanted to raise teacher and principal supplements by 1 percent and assistant principal supplements by 2 percent with the additional funds. Money was also set aside for employees whose jobs do not require a teaching license.

Hester gave the school board an additional $700,000, but at least $1.4 million was needed for teacher supplements. Supplements for principals and assistant principals totaled $185,000, while pay adjustments for the other employees totaled $410,000. School board Chairman Kay Carroll said his board's budget would have to be reworked, but it was not likely that teachers would get a supplement increase.

Other revisions in the budget included: $250,000 to Johnston Memorial Hospital over a five-year period for a hospice center; $20,000 to Benson Area Medical Center; $582,820 with a contingency of $50,000 to Johnston Community College for parking lot revisions; $15,000 to Project Access to purchase medicine for low-income clients; $342,933 in recreation grants; and $6,000 to 15 first-responder fire department units.

Several changes were also made in the county departments. In the Public Utilities Department, the tipping fee for municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris increased by $2 per ton. The increase was mandated by the N.C. General Assembly in 2007. Also, meter fees will cost an additional $10 at $195 per meter.

Fourteen of the recommended positions were approved. The new positions are six jailers in the Sheriff’s Office, five public utilities employees and three employees for the tax office. Also, the animal cruelty fee was increased from $100 to $500 and the animal abandonment fee from $100 to $200.

Commissioner Ray Woodall said the status of the economy played a role in the budget. "I know it has been hard on all of us, and there are things we need to do, but the state of the economy is terrible," he said. "We are in a situation where none of us wants to be. I hope the people who did not get what they wanted will have an understanding that a whole lot of people ain't getting what they want right now."

Fellow Commissioner Jeff Carver echoed the same sentiments. "I wish we had a magic wand," he said. "That way we could do everything we wanted. If you think this budget year is bad, and the economy continues down this path, next year will be 10 times worse."