Flagler County School Board members got their first look at the upcoming budget for the school year, which begins Wednesday, July 1.

But a more pressing issue takes up a fraction of the two-inch binder: how to keep two programs open.

The Step Up program helps adults with mental disabilities join the work force. They get a small paycheck for doing piece-work for various local businesses.

There is also a Community Inclusion program, for those with even more severe disabilities unable to work.

Men and women here get the social interaction they otherwise would not have.

Kevin McCarthy, the head of Flagler Technical Institute, which is an arm of the school system, told the board $535,000 in state funds used to keep these programs running fell victim to last-minute budget deals in Tallahassee earlier this month.

For now, the school board will move some money around to keep the program open for three months.

McCarthy vows to leave no funding source stone unturned. That includes going to other municipalities in Flagler County to look for help.

“This is a great thing we do with Flagler County schools but really, it's a Flagler County issue," said McCarthy. "So you can bet we will be having discussions with the city and county governments in ways that we can partner and pool resources.”

That's just what School Board Chair Colleen Conklin wants to hear. “This is a service that is needed in the community and we're going to need their help in supporting the sustainability of this program.”

Right now, nearly 90 people are in the program with more than 50 on a waiting list. The only other real option in this county is keeping these men and women at home. To do that impacts more than one person.

“Many of our clients require supervision," McCarthy explained. To shut down these two programs, "will require a family member to assist them, which takes them out of the workforce and it's a downward spiral from there.”

At one point, $2 million in grant money went to these programs here in Flagler County.

The $535,000 needed now represents the absolute bare bones costs associated with keeping it open.