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| Superintendent Rebeccas Gates was set to present the school system's final budget at a public school board meeting at Parry McCluer Middle School Thursday night. |
New car buyers and small business owners are not the only ones receiving federal aid in the troubled economy. If its plea is heard, the Buena Vista school district could get a total of $852,969 from Congress’s $787 billion stimulus package.
“No one, including other superintendents who’ve been around a lot longer than me, ever remember something like this happening,” said Rebecca Gates, superintendent of Buena Vista schools. “No one.”
Following amendments to the Virginia Senate’s version of the state budget, the school district has gotten busy requesting help with a shortfall that could exceed $1 million.
A new clause in the state Senate’s budget, which was passed on Feb. 18, allows school districts in the Commonwealth to apply for federal money from the stimulus package. The earlier version passed by Virginia’s House of Delegates on Feb. 13 did not allow such requests.
Accordingly, one of the school district’s requests is for $245,000 to cover salaries for five teachers who would otherwise be laid off; another proposes $607,969 to be put toward general use.
Earlier this year, the district estimated that state budget cuts would mean a shortfall of $908,000 for the city’s schools; but as work on the state budget progressed and the economy worsened, the school system stood to lose an additional $158,614.
The state’s latest round of budget cuts fell days before Gates was scheduled to propose the official school budget at tonight’s school board meeting.
When she heard about the new clause, Gates rushed to file an online proposal for the stimulus money through the governor’s office.
“The change is really a blessing and a curse, because we have no idea how much it will be,” said Gates, referring to the legislature’s proposed cuts and the hope offered by the stimulus package.
Though more money could help the cash-strapped district, the school budget could still fall short as much as $400,000. Two months ago, the board began a series of cutbacks to brace for the shortfall. Gates said she had hoped the initial cuts would make the final figure easier to swallow.
Since January, the board has laid off five people who served as support staff and calculated a pay reduction for current staff. To deal with the shrinking budget, the school board may resort to more staff cuts or increase class sizes.
The school board also modified the “sick day bank” program. That program lets retiring teachers receive cash compensation from sick days they have not used. Teachers normally receive 10 sick days per year, with cash exchange at $62.50 per sick day.
Sick days can accumulate over the years, and some teachers were receiving nearly $15,000. As part of the initial cutbacks, the board has set the cap at $8,000 for the program.
With no federal money guaranteed and a possible seven-figure deficit looming, the official district budget may not have seen its last revision. But some teachers believe that retaining jobs in the troubled economy is more important than fretting about cuts in benefits.
“With all the changes coming around, we have other battles to fight,” said Paula Charlton, who teaches third grade at Kling Elementary. “Let’s move on.”
Jim Hudson, the chairman of the school board, said the budget process will remain important, noting that concerned citizens and faculty continue to attend school board and finance committee meetings.
Despite the hope of relief, uncertainty and urgency are still central to the school’s financial situation.
“Nobody knows when [the stimulus money] is coming, or how it’s going to come,” said Gates. “The president says we’ll know in 60 to 90 days, but we have to finalize the budget by April 1, so we simply can’t wait.”
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Lisa Tracy
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd