An end to budget fighting? Wake schools and county leaders are cautiously optimistic.

Wake County commissioners and school board members say they are working on building a foundation of trust that they hope will reduce clashes over education funding.

The two boards had a joint meeting Monday, and both agreed that a better budgeting process is needed. One way to make that happen, members said, is to meet more often, likely quarterly. A meeting is tentatively set for May, after the school board will vote on its recommended budget.

"I thought the meeting was one of the most productive meetings that these two boards have had in recent memory," said Wake County Commissioners Chairwoman Jessica Holmes. "Oftentimes we make assumptions about what we all agree on or disagree on and today we were able to sit down and have a dialogue."

Monday's meeting at N.C. State University set the stage for budget discussions that will take place this spring and summer.

Since Democrats took control of the Board of Commissioners in 2014, local funding for the school system has increased — but that hasn't stopped the sparring. Tensions increased last year when the school board requested $45.2 million in additional funding, but was given $21 million for a total of $430 million.

Beyond the annual budget, commissioners and school leaders must work out details for a school-construction bond referendum. One option is to ask voters on the November ballot to borrow $1.1 billion. Another option would be to split the amount between 2018 and 2020.

School leaders also face other challenges in the coming year, including preparing for state-mandated smaller K-3 class sizes, said school board Chairwoman Monika Johnson-Hostler.

"This ground work is so we are struggling on top of having developed a relationship first and then the gift that I'm hoping we give to this community is a commitment to do the hard work and trust each other," she said. "Then when it gets tough (acknowledging) that we are all here for students."

Holmes said the optimism shown during the meeting was "fairly new."

"Typically joint meetings end with a lot of tension and concern and with a focus on our difficulties and on what we're not funding versus what we are funding," she said. "Today there's an acknowledgment that we fund a lot more than we don't. This board has been supportive of the school system. We have moved the needle forward for the benefit of our educators and students."

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 1:06 PM with the headline "An end to budget fighting? Wake schools and county leaders are cautiously optimistic.."