The Shadow
LOW MOOR - The Alleghany County School Board approved a preliminary $28.2 million budget for the 2010-2011 academic year Monday night that is 6.5 percent less than the current budget.
The board is proposing more than $1.9 million in cuts to account for reductions in federal and state funding.
Closing Boiling Spring Elementary School, the county’s smallest school, is not among the options being considered, School Board Chairman Randy Tucker said during Monday’s meeting at Clifton Middle School.
“Boiling Spring is not closing. What is going around out on the streets did not come from this school board,” he said.
The board is planning to eliminate 17.5 positions to deal with revenue reductions for enrollment losses. Enrollment factors into how much revenue a school division receives from federal and state funding sources.
“Our enrollment in the division continues to decline,” Superintendent Dr. Sarah Campbell said as she outlined the budget proposal.
The 17.5 positions targeted for elimination will save $693,286. Positions affected by the proposed cuts include an assistant principal, five teachers, 1.5 remedial teachers, one special education teacher, three resource teachers (art, music and physical education), and five teacher assistants.
In addition, Campbell is proposing cuts in resource professional and classified support positions. Those cuts would save $153,598 and include a mental health counselor, a school psychologist (50 percent), a part-time early education teacher, an occupational therapist (contract reduced by 10 days), a part-time speech teacher, a secretary at Alleghany High School (50 percent) and a secretary in the school division’s central office.
Other cuts highlighted by Campbell include:
– Reductions in athletic and academic stipends, $61,356.
– Eliminating the school division’s Virginia Retirement System contribution on salary supplements and reducing employee tuition assistance by 50 percent, $102,050.
– Instructional support reductions totaling $68,919. Those cuts include 50 percent reductions in staff development, elimination of a supervisor of instruction materials, reductions in division-level materials by 20 percent, reductions in school allotments by 6 percent, elimination of an allocation for career and technical education and reducing curriculum revision by 50 percent.
– Reducing an allocation for summer remedial programs and the board’s contribution to Jackson River Technical Center, $95,626.
– Reductions in funding for co-curricular and extra-curricular activities totaling $15,058. The reductions include elimination of supplemental band equipment funding, elimination of division-level funding for a marine biology trip and elimination of funding for off-campus dual enrollment at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College.
– Facilities and transportation reductions totaling $562,052. Heating set points will be lowered by 2 degrees and colling set points will be raised by 2 degrees. Money earmarked for renovations to Alleghany High School will be eliminated with money remaining from work being performed this year to the operational budget next year. In addition, the board will suspend purchase of a school bus for one year, reduce motor pool vehicle purchases for one year by 50 percent, and eliminate one full-time substitute custodian.
– Other cuts to help balance the budget will include a 20 percent reduction in funding for professional services, eliminating an allotment for hepatitis vaccines, reducing travel allotments, a charging a portion of workmans compensations insurance for cafeteria workers
To round out the $1.9 in needed cuts, the school board decided to suspend all bus purchases for one year. That move will save $143,243.
The school board expects its state funding to drop by more than $1.9 million next year. State sales tax is expected to decline by $119,776. Basic aid to county schools from the state is forecast to drop by more than $1.8 million.
Federal funding, including stimulus funds, are expected to decrease by $923,337.
Campbell said state funding for schools reached a high point in 2009 due to the use of federal stimulus dollars. Money that was designed to be allocated over two years was used to “back fill” state funding reductions, she said.
The board is seeking level funding of $9.07 million dollars from Alleghany County.
“The local contribution to our school budget has not changed in the last five years because we have not asked for any more money,” Campbell said.
The money earmarked for AHS renovations, $392,345, will be used with other monies, including $297,000 for school foot, to help plug the gap created by state and federal funding reductions.
Campbell said the budget approved by the school board Monday is preliminary and will likely changed because it was prepared prior to Sunday’s biennial budget agreement by the General Assembly. State funding estimates in the school board’s preliminary budget are based on the difference between budgets that were being considered by the House of Delegates and the Senate.
Approval of the preliminary numbers will allow the school board to submit a budget proposal to the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors and comply with a mandated April 1 submission deadline.
School board members said they hope Alleghany County can fully fund their budget request so more cuts sill not have to be made.
“Hopefully, we have made the cuts in the right areas. As far as I am concerned, there are no such things as right areas when it comes to making cuts to public education,” said School Board Vice Chairwoman Stacey Bryant.
“This is probably one of the most painful years we have experienced, as far as money issues are concerned,” said Jackson River District School Board representative Rob Fridley. “I will ask that the board of supervisors not ask us to cut our budget any more.”
The preliminary budget was approved by a 6-0 vote. It will be submitted to the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors March 23.
“I don’t like it, but we don’t have a choice, so I move that we pass it,” Bryant said of the budget proposal.
Campbell stressed that cuts her staff has targeted are designed to have minimum impact on classroom instruction.
She warned that if the school division’s health insurance premiums increase later in the year, teachers and other employees will see their take-home pay reduced.
In other business Monday, the school board:
– Approved revisions to the 2009-2010 school calendar due to days missed because of winter weather.
The last day of school is now slated for June 11.
– Approved the filing of a waiver application with the state to open schools in 2010-2011 prior to Labor Day.
To qualify for the waiver, a school division must miss an average of 8 days in the last five to 10 years. Alleghany County’s average is currently at 10.4 days. Schools were closed 17 days this year due to weather.
“This year has certainly helped up our average for a little while,” said Mary Jane Mutispaugh, director of instruction.
– Approved personnel changes.
Jason Bowman, Christy Carper and Tiffany Reynolds were approved as substitute teachers. Catherine Dew, Barbara Morris and David Moynihan were approved as substitute teacher assistants.
The board approved the retirements of Frank Higgins, teacher at Falling Spring Elementary; Carol Hose, school psychologist; Marlene Seaman and Margaret Stapleton, teachers a Sharon Elementary. The retirements are effective June 30.
