[BrownsvilleOnline] BE HEARD!

[Sally Cushing]

SCHOOL BUDGET:  PARENTS, BE HEARD!
SCHOOL BOARD PUBLIC  HEARING

Tuesday night, January 29th

Monticello High School Auditorium

6:30 pm public hearing begins

4:30 pm registration to speak begins in the Auditorium

THE SCHOOL BOARD NEEDS TO HEAR FROM PARENTS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS, ABOUT  
WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN OUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION!

Parents, PLEASE attend this hearing or email your opinion to the  
School Board at:

schoolboard at k12albemarle.org

To review and to learn details about the budget and its development  
process, go online to http://www.k12albemarle.org/board/budget

Rapidly changing state and local revenues require reductions in Dr.  
Moran’s proposed budget.  Please read Brian Wheeler’s post below,  
which underscores the need for your input in the budget process!

 From Brian Wheeler, At-Large Member of the Albemarle County School  
Board.

Last year, the “January surprise” of the budget process was an ever  
dropping tax rate target that had the Albemarle County School Board  
constantly cutting and adjusting the budget for 2007-08.  The School  
Board ultimately passed a balanced budget (it has to by law), but a  
number of major initiatives went underfunded or unfunded.

  This year’s “January surprise” is the rapidly changing state and  
local revenue picture.  Once again, the funding request prepared by  
Superintendent Pam Moran for the School Board’s consideration is  
having fundamental financial assumptions shaken by matters outside the  
School Board’s control.

Earlier this week, the School Board was facing a $832,637 funding gap  
for next year.  The School Board was told Tuesday to expect state  
revenues to drop by $250,000.  Not a huge amount.  I can deal with  
that in a $153 million budget.  We were also told that our competitive  
market for employee salaries was now forecasting smaller raises.  So  
compensation targets for classified employees were ratcheted back  
trimming that gap by $332,420.  Teacher salaries remained at the  
targeted 4% increase.  Still some more work to do, but certainly not  
impossible to balance the budget.

Yesterday however, I learned that local Albemarle County revenues for  
next year are now expected to drop by $2.16 million from the  
projection used by Dr. Moran in her December 2007 funding request to  
the School Board.

  Let’s do the math.

In 2007-08, the schools were supposed to receive a transfer from local  
government of $98.4 million for operations (i.e. not debt service,  
capital, or self-sustaining).  That amount is 44.9% of the total  
County general fund expenditures of which 62% is funded by real estate  
property taxes.  (Note: This is from the perspective of the general  
fund for Albemarle and that there are other sources of local revenue)

This year, we had been projecting since October a $100.67 million  
transfer from local government (assumes the real estate property tax  
rate would remain at $0.68).  That would have resulted in an  
additional $2.2 million from local government, or a 2.2% increase for  
the schools.  The lowest change in memory according to our staff.

Based on revised data from yesterday, that number is now projected to  
be $73,311 (0.074%) of TOTAL additional revenues from local government  
to the schools.  Yes, I have those commas and decimals in the right  
place.  Local government may look at reducing capital investments in  
community infrastructure to help plug the hole.

But wait, there is more.  With real estate tax bills in the mail this  
week and dropping local property values, the County also has to face  
shortfalls in the CURRENT budget.  We had expected that and Dr. Moran  
had previously prepared the schools to accommodate a $2 million hit.   
Yesterday local government informed the schools that the figure has  
reached the $3 million mark.  So the $98.4 million that we should have  
received from local government this school year is now $95.4 million.

  Our community has some serious work to do.  My assessment of Dr.  
Moran’s funding request, as one School Board member, was that it  
ALREADY very lean and strategically focused.  Overall the projected  
growth of the budget was only 3.37%.  Yet, she figured out how to fund  
a $6.2 million initiative to ensure competitive compensation.  Given  
the budget was only growing by $5 million, she accomplished that by  
cutting positions and programs in other parts of the division.  An  
additional $73,311 from local government doesn’t go very far on a $6.2  
million initiative.

  Further, in late 2007 the School Board hired the Commonwealth  
Educational Policy Institute (CEPI) at VCU to conduct a 5 month  
proactive study of the efficiency and effectiveness of our school  
operations.  Implementing the recommendations in this study will be an  
essential part of funding the future, but only so many adjustments can  
be made in the first year, and as I said previously, many cuts were  
already in the budget and other initiatives were already left unfunded  
or deferred to year two.

  Unless the revenue picture changes for the better, the School Board  
will soon be in the process of planning reduction strategies with the  
Superintendent.  Those specifics will not be clear before the public  
hearing next week, but it is essential we hear from YOU regarding your  
priorities for our public schools.  What are you willing to do  
without?  What investments are you willing to make to accomplish the  
educational goals of this community?

  The public hearing is being held at Monticello High School’s new  
auditorium this Tuesday, January 29, 2008 starting at 6:30 PM.  The  
sign-up sheet for speakers will be available starting at 4:30 PM.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Other important dates relating to the budget are:

Wednesday, March 5 Board of Supervisors Public Hearing #1 on Budget  
(Time & Location TBA)

Wednesday, April 2 Board of Supervisors Public Hearing #2 on Budget  
(Time & Location TBA)

Please contact the Office of Fiscal Services at 434.296.5829 should  
you have questions about budget information found on the school's  
website.



Submission prepared by Sally Cushing, Parent Council Representative  
for the Brownsville PTO.



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/brownsvilleonline/attachments/20080128/bb56601c/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Microsoft Word - PC 1.28.doc.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 80740 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/brownsvilleonline/attachments/20080128/bb56601c/attachment.pdf 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/brownsvilleonline/attachments/20080128/bb56601c/attachment-0001.html