County budget planners struggle
to minimize cuts for schools
Facing more than $1.2 million in state budget cuts, the Rockbridge County school board and administration have crafted a tentative budget plan to deal with the shortfall.
The proposed budget calls for a combination of staff reductions, fewer support staff workdays, elimination of a program in computer science, and decreased textbook and materials purchases for the coming year.
The board presented the plan at an open session Monday. It also includes the use of $300,000 of the district’s savings to help offset the state cuts. It also includes a request to the county supervisors for an additional $300,000.
“Obviously, a shortfall of that magnitude is very significant for a school division our size,” Superintendent John Reynolds said of the $1.2 million-plus in state cuts.
“But there is still reason for optimism.”
Rockbridge County, he said, could receive up to $800,000 in federal stimulus money to help address the anticipated state budget cuts.
The General Assembly last weekend passed a $77 billion state budget, which included $1.5 billion in federal stimulus money. Of that, $365 million will go to public school districts across the state. Gov. Kaine had not signed the budget bill by Thursday afternoon.
Reynolds said it is not definite that Rockbridge County will receive any stimulus money or when it might be available. If the money does not come through, the district will have to find a way to make up for the funding lost in cuts.
Of the proposed staff reductions, 10 are teacher aide positions and four are teaching positions that are either already vacant or would be left unfilled following retirements or discontinuation of a program, as with computer science, the only program currently being eliminated.
Reynolds said the school board and administration still have work to do on the proposed budget. But he said that, with $300,000 from savings and another $300,000 from county supervisors, the work that lies ahead should be significantly less difficult.
“To have to make decisions [regarding] $600,000 is better than to have to make decisions about $1.2 million,” he said.
Lorie Hocker, president of the Rockbridge Area Education Association, said that if Rockbridge schools do get stimulus money, she hopes the school board and administration will consider reinstating step pay raises -- regular salary increases – for faculty. She said not increasing pay can make it difficult for teachers to deal with rising living expenses.
“Unfortunately, the grocery stores aren’t having the same issues as the state,” Hocker said.
Reynolds said that if stimulus money does come in, some parts of the budget will need to be revisited. But he said the guidelines for using that money still are not clear. School districts might be able to use the money to fill holes in their operating budgets, but they might also be required to use the money to expand existing programs.
School Board Chair Sarah Jane Deacon said it is important to remember that the board is working only with what it currently knows. There are still numbers that are expected to increase, like the cost of health insurance.
“Everything is fluid,” Deacon said. “We are still a work in progress.”
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Doug
Cumming
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd