[SchoolMatters] County Supervisors adopt 71 cent tax rate; School request satisfied

[Brian Wheeler]

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This message is not an official communication of the Albemarle County School
Board. It is a private, e-mail-only newsletter written by Brian Wheeler,
At-Large Member of the Albemarle County School Board. 
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[Want to share some public comments on this message?  See the weblog version
here: http://schoolmatters.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/04/tax_rate.html ]
 
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors started their budget and tax rate
discussion at 2PM today and by about 6:45 PM we had a tax rate.  The Board
was split 3-3 for much of the day with half the board favoring a 70 cent tax
rate (Boyd, Dorrier, Rooker) and the other half favoring 71 cents (Mallek,
Slutzky, Thomas).  In the end, the Board adopted, by a 4-2 vote, a 71 cent
real estate property tax rate with the stipulation that one cent of tax
revenues (about $1.6 million) be set aside and only used if projected
revenues are less than budgeted during the next fiscal year.  Any funds not
utilized for revenue shortfalls will be returned to the Capital Improvements
Program (CIP) budget at the end of the year.
 
The County's 2007 tax rate was 68 cents.  Thus a 71 cent tax rate represents
a 3 cent increase. In their discussions, Supervisors said the resulting tax
increase for the average household in the County would be about $30 a year.
 
As a result of this action, I expect the Albemarle County School Board's
$151.3 million budget request for 2008-09 to be fully funded. Speaking as
one Board member and not on behalf of the School Board, I believe this is in
no small part thanks to the support of our community at the numerous public
hearings and in communications sent to the Board of Supervisors.  THANK YOU!
They got the message loud and clear and every Supervisor expressed their
desire to support our schools at today's meeting.  Even those that voted
against the final tax rate (Boyd/Dorrier) were willing to support 70 or 70.5
cents which also would have satisfied the school funding request when
combined with a one penny transfer from the capital budget, as had been
recommended by County Executive Bob Tucker.
 
In summary, the School Division will receive additional revenues based on
the reallocation of one penny in capital funds towards operational expenses,
plus the impact of the tax rate being increased (schools will have access to
revenues generated from 2 cents of tax rate increase, with the third penny
being held in the local government contingency fund).
 
The School Board will have a budget work session on Thursday, April 17, 2008
to finalize its budget.  The Board has said previously that it will continue
with some cuts (e.g. central office expenditures) regardless of the revenues
available as part of its implementation of recommendations in the Resource
Utilization Study.  Other cuts (e.g. strings & world languages staffing
subsidies) or additions (e.g. specialty centers) that were identified in
various contingency plans and previously considered by the Board will be on
the table for final review.
 
Brian Wheeler
 
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