ISLE OF WIGHT—Isle of Wight County Schools’ proposed 2012-13 budget calls for a 20 percent increase in funding from the Board of Supervisors.

The $57.2 million spending plan, if approved, would be $5 million more than last year.

If the county cannot fund the increase, the district would be forced to take away five paid holidays from employees, eliminate nine lead teacher positions and reduce by half the supplements paid to teachers with advanced degrees.

“The last thing we’d put in are the furloughs,” said School Board Chairman Robert Eley. “I would hate to think we couldn’t get enough money to keep from having to take five days out of the salaries of our employees.”

The furlough days could save the district $488,000, while the elimination of the lead teachers and the reduction of advance supplements could add $935,000 to the budget proposal.

The budget doesn’t include raises and calls for $30.7 million in local funding from the county to help offset a $4.6 million shortfall. The shortfall comes from a mandatory increase in Virginia Retirement System funding, a $1.2 million loss of stimulus funding for 19 teaching positions and a $1.6 million reduction last year at the request of county leaders, county schools’ spokesperson Katherine Goff said.

If the $1.6 million is returned this year, it would make up some of the local funding the proposed budget calls for.

Other possible cost-saving measures include the elimination of three library assistants that would save $75,000 and early retirement incentives that could save the district $100,000.