School Board finalizes a budget
March 11, 2010 by Bryan Rothamel · View Comments
School Board Members Tom Muir (left) and Barbara Gibbons (right) during the budget portion of the meeting
PALMYRA — Fluvanna’s School Board passed a $32 million budget Thursday night unknowingly in a smaller deficit than expected.
The budget includes a cut in salary expense by $784,000 and a reduction in staff by $1.05 million. To help with the reduction in staff by $1.05 million, the board approved offering an early retirement incentive to eligible employees.
“I just desperately don’t want to cut people’s salary or RIF (reduction in force) people,” said vice chairman Tom Muir, Palmyra District.
The packed School Board Room brought 15 speakers from the audience to the lectern. One administrator, four teachers and two students were included as speakers.
Kathryn Driver, principal at Fluvanna Middle School, told the board, “Stop looking at the box and start looking outside of the box.”
The budget has been stripped of almost $6.3 million compared to fiscal year 2010′s appropriation. Included in the cuts are the aforementioned reduction in force and salary cuts as well as reductions in the retirement system contribution, additional health insurance supplement, stipends and technology. There were seven vacancies known before today that will not be refilled and remedial programs outside of school hours have been eliminated.
The capacity audience for the meeting included many staff members, students, parents and community members
Community member Tara Smialek said, “I’d rather take money from my budget than take it from these kids.”
The biggest expected revenue cuts have come from the commonwealth where the budget process is slowly moving along. Superintendent Dr. Tom Smith predicts $18 million to come from the General Assembly. The figure is in between the state senate and house of delegates.
The Fluvanna Board of Supervisors also has reduced the expected local funds for the schools. Last year the district received $15 million from the county.
Originally expected local funds were to be around $12 million. Wednesday night the supervisors are moving forward with a proposal for a $0.05 tax increase to fund an additional $2 million for the schools. This latest proposal will bring the proposed increased tax rate to $0.10 $.55 per $100 assessed.
With the additional $2 million from the municipality, the school’s budget is still in a deficit of $81,000.
The School Board has appointed members Muir and Doug Johnson, Cunningham District, to lead the Expense Investigation Committee to find any more cuts that could take place. The committee will report back to the board during the regularly scheduled April meeting.
Also during the meeting the board approved a pay to participate program for the extracurricular activities at the secondary level. They also moved forward to have chairwoman Barbara Gibbons, Rivanna District, to meet with the Virginia School Board Association to discuss using the VSBA for hiring services of a new superintendent. If Gibbons feels compelled to, she can contract the VSBA to being the process.
The next stop for the budget is to the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, March 17. The meeting will be held in the Circuit Courtroom in the Palmyra Courthouse starting at 6 pm.
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