The Catoosa school board on Tuesday approved its $104.9 million budget and its property tax rate for the 2010 budget year.

“It’s going to be a pretty rough year,” board chairman Don Dycus said during a board work session Tuesday night. “I hope we don’t have the continual reductions we had last year.”

Dycus went on to praise the board and school system for efforts made during the current year to keep a balanced budget and strong funds reserve.

Last week Gov. Sonny Perdue requested that all schools implement three furlough days for certified personnel. Denia Reese, superintendent of Catoosa schools, said furloughs for Catoosa educators would be taken during three in-service days during the second semester and the specific days would be determined by the individual schools.

“I’d like to give (the schools) flexibility to choose the days they wish to furlough,” Reese said.

The request to implement furloughs in the schools came alongside the announcement that quality based educa-tion funding by the state has been cut by 3 percent. Reese said this funding contributes to the payment of teachers’ salaries. The new budget does not include the cut because schools are waiting on more information from the state.

In other business at Tuesday's Catoosa Board of Education work session, Bryan Heberer and Daniel Padavana of Heritage High School were recognized as summer graduates. Ashley Adair and Stephanie Alamaraz are also summer graduates from Heritage High, but were not present at the work session.

Keefer Doris of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School was also recognized as a summer graduate.

“You set your hearts to graduate,” Reese said “I know this is the first of many great accomplishments.”