[HenleyMatters] School Budget Faces New Funding Cuts

[Hashisaki]

Henley Matters Subscribers,

I apologize for two emails in one day about the budget but I just  
received the information below and thought that it was important to  
share with you all.  Please read this as it has some new information  
about projected revenues in Albemarle County and how that could  
potentially impact the School Division.

Teresa Hashisaki


As with all my (Brian Wheeler) posts... This important message on the  
school budget represents my views as an individual School Board member.

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.

Brian Wheeler
bwheeler at albemarlematters.com
http://www.wheeleronboard.com
Click here to sign up for my SchoolMatters newsletter!

Brian Wheeler, At-Large Member & Chairman
Albemarle County School Board
89 Langford Place
Charlottesville, VA 22903
bwheeler at k12albemarle.org
tel: 434-984-2233
www.wheeleronboard.com
Click here to visit my blog and comment on the latest school news
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/henleymatters/attachments/20080126/04cff603/attachment.html