(a) Upon receiving the budget from the superintendent and following the public hearing authorized by G.S. 115C-428(b), if one is held, the board of education shall consider the budget, make such changes therein as it deems advisable, and submit the entire budget as approved by the board of education to the board of county commissioners not later than May 15, or such later date as may be fixed by the board of county commissioners. At the time of submission of the budget, the board of education shall also submit to the board of county commissioners in writing the academic performance of the schools in the local school administrative unit, including the school performance grades of each school, any schools identified as low-performing or continually low-performing, and efforts by the local board of education to improve those identified schools' performance. The local board of education shall present the academic performance information at a public meeting upon the request of the board of commissioners.
(b) The board of county commissioners shall complete its action on the school budget on or before July 1, or such later date as may be agreeable to the board of education. The commissioners shall determine the amount of county revenues to be appropriated in the county budget ordinance to the local school administrative unit for the budget year. The board of county commissioners may, in its discretion, allocate part or all of its appropriation by purpose, function, or project as defined in the uniform budget format.
(c) The board of county commissioners shall have full authority to call for, and the board of education shall have the duty to make available to the board of county commissioners, upon request, all books, records, audit reports, and other information bearing on the financial operation of the local school administrative unit.
(d) Nothing in this Article shall be construed to place a duty on the board of commissioners to fund a deficit incurred by a local school administrative unit through failure of the unit to comply with the provisions of this Article or rules and regulations issued pursuant hereto, or to provide moneys lost through misapplication of moneys by a bonded officer, employee or agent of the local school administrative unit when the amount of the fidelity bond required by the board of education was manifestly insufficient.
(e) A local board of education may request appropriations directly from a city, as authorized by G.S. 160A-700.