(Cleveland)- The White County Board of Education held the first public hearing on next year’s education budget Thursday evening.

Director of Finance for the school system Julie Dorsey said 45 percent of the funding for the proposed 74.7 million dollar budget comes from local funds.  The new budget does include state increases for certified employees and the board has voted to provide a 5.1 percent increase for classified workers.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Laurie Burkett said using some fund balance they are able to see the numbers come together, “ I feel good where we are with our fund balance but also I feel good that you know we’re able to give back to the people who are working really hard every day, so that’s important.”

The board will hold another public hearing prior to considering approval of the budget.