By Micah Fleet
The proposed county school budget would demand more from local taxpayers to pay for higher salaries and health care costs, since it projects little increase in state funding.
The seven county schools have seen their enrollment rise over the past two years, but have received only a minimal increase in funds from Virginia’s General Assembly.
Legislators must fund a certain level of education, and Superintendent John Reynolds acknowledged that they are meeting that obligation. “But not in the degree in which I think they should and it’s hurting the local people,” he said.
Rockbridge County’s school budget for the current school year is $26,754,411, including federal, state and local funding. The proposed budget for 2013-14 shows a decrease in funding of more than $2,000.
School funding is determined by Virginia’s Standards of Quality, a section of the state constitution that lists the minimum services the state must pay for in public schools. That minimum only makes up 40 percent of the school board’s budget, which is forcing the school board to ask Rockbridge County for $400,000 more than last year’s allocation of more than $13 million.
“[County funding] makes up about 50 percent of our budget,” Reynolds said. “But we take 65 percent of [the county’s budget]; we’re a big expense for them.”
The School Board also said in the hearing that with funding from the state, changes from last year’s budget would be minimal.
Board cost changes include:
- A two percent salary increase, for $351,443
- Health care premium increase of $83,956
- $170,000 for new textbooks, buses, and facilities
- New jobs created or converted from other positions, costing $254,272
- Elimination of a human-resources position and shift in funding to save $153,466
Citizens were invited to speak at the hearing, but only one did so. Chris Green, a representative from Rockbridge County’s tea party, pointed out that because of the Maury River Middle School renovation, the county was taking on $1 million in debt service a year. That debt service is the interest Rockbridge County has to pay on the bond it used for Maury River’s renovations.
“My concern is that by taking on that debt, it’s going to have to make us wait longer to pay into things like teacher’s salaries and benefit programs,” Green said.
Richard Patterson, the financial director for Rockbridge County’s public schools, said later that the county would be saving almost $750,000 a year in operating costs from a consolidation that calls for the closing of Rockbridge County Middle School.
The extra $250,000 of debt service, Patterson said, was necessary to upgrade the aging Maury River school.
“We gave all our information to the Board of Supervisors and they were on board the whole way,” Patterson said. “We have a moral obligation to provide the best education we can to our students.”
The school board will present the budget to the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors at its March 25 meeting. The supervisors will vote to finalize the budget in May.
Source: Rockbridge County School Board proposed budget