[MurrayMatters] School Board Adopts Final Budget

[Hashisaki]

DATE:                        April 20, 2007
CONTACT:              Sue Bell Friedman, Chair
                                     School Board
PHONE:                    (434) 972-4055 or (434) 981-3515


School Board cuts $3.4 million from original budget plan;

Adopts $147.95  million operating budget for 2007-08 school year





(ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Virginia) – After reducing its original 2007-08  
school year funding request proposal by $3.4 million, the Albemarle  
County School Board adopted a $147.95 million operating budget during  
a special work session April 19, 2007. The reductions were required  
after the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors set its real estate  
tax rate at 68 cents per $100 assessed value. That change provided  
the School Division with less revenue than it was told to expect from  
the Board of Supervisors when the budget development process began in  
November 2006.

"A school division budget was approved, based on the current revenues  
provided by the Board of Supervisors.  Both the budget process and  
the end result continue to be of concern to the School Board. This  
year’s process short-changed strategic initiatives and required  
systemic changes without a focus on our strategic educational goals  
in a way that results in efficient and effective utilization of  
resources,” said Sue Bell Friedman, chair of the School Board.



Friedman said the School Board and staff look forward to working  
closely with the Board of Supervisors and its staff to agree on a  
revenue planning process that is based on strategic educational goals  
and results in a more efficient and effective utilization of  
resources.  Toward this goal, the School Board is considering a  
Resource Utilization Review initiative.


Sixty-eight percent of School Division revenue comes from local  
sources, primarily the real estate tax. When the real estate tax rate  
is reduced, the level of funding for the School Division declines. In  
mid-April the Board of Supervisors voted to change its real estate  
tax rate from 74 cents to 68 cents per $100 assessed value, dropping  
its expected increase in total new revenue from 6.92 percent to 4.51  
percent. The School Division received 30 percent of its revenue from  
the state and 2 percent from the federal government.

The School Board originally submitted a $151.36 million, needs-based  
funding request to the Board of Supervisors. The original request was  
based on a 74 cent real estate tax and dedicated the majority of  
expected new revenue – about $7.6 million – to maintaining its  
position in its competitive market for teachers and support staff.  
The competitive market strategy is one the Joint Boards agreed upon  
to recruit and retain high quality employees.

“With 82 percent of our spending on salary and benefits for  
employees, and a commitment to maintain our competitive market  
position for employee recruitment and retention, our school division  
does not have much room to maneuver when cuts need to be made,” said  
Dr. Pamela R. Moran, superintendent.  “Our goals for making  
reductions were to minimize impacts on teaching and learning,  
maintain support for core instructional programs, and meet our  
employee compensation targets.”

The final reductions made to the School Board’s original funding  
request to balance its spending plan to revenues include:

Funding for school bus replacement by $100,000
Funding for textbook replacement by $124,231
Central Office staffing by $200,000
Funding for the Building Services Department by $250,000
Funding for the specialty center concept by $130,000, eliminating  
research and development of the International Baccalaureate program
One full-time equivalent (FTE) emergency teaching staffing position  
at $62,649
Intervention/prevention operations funds  by $170,730
Hispanic/Latino coordinator position expansion, $44,662
Suspension Center for students with discipline issues at $93,323
Administrative Intern Program at $225,440
Staffing increase  in teachers who provide support to other teachers  
for technology use in instruction at $286,258
Professional Development Reimbursement Program by $50,000
Technology support staff increase to meet needs at $298,235
Salary increases related to target for market competitiveness for our  
most experienced teachers at $492,714
Increase class size in grades 9 through 12 by 0.50 students for $287,150
Office of Instruction operational funds by 5 percent for $62,317

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