Public Schools Expect Next Budgets to Worsen, Based on McDonnell Plan

By Amber Lester Thursday, February 18, 2010

School administrators in the Historic Triangle are expecting their budget shortfalls to increase if the General Assembly’s proposed budgets look anything like the Governor’s.

The House and Senate budget proposals are expected to be released Sunday, four days after Gov. Bob McDonnell released 38 pages of amendments to a proposal introduced by former Gov. Tim Kaine in December. The news for K-12 education, largely spared from deep cuts in previous fiscal years, is grim.

Kaine’s suggested cuts included support personnel, textbooks and construction grants. McDonnell’s budget cuts deeper; he proposes cutting coaches’ stipends, school breakfast initiatives, funds to lease or rent space, support for travel and replacing buses. Read more about his proposal here.

Williamsburg-James City County Superintendent Gary Mathews issued a statement indicating the district’s shortfall could climb from the initial December estimate of $5 million to $9.8 million. That combines the shortfalls in state, city and county revenue and the increased costs (estimated around $2.8 million).

Mathews said the budget picture could still change depending on the budget proposals from the House and Senate, but the division will base its budget on the Governor’s proposal. If the General Assembly rejects some of the proposed cuts, Mathews sees two possible options for the division’s budget. The division could either sustain the cuts at the $9.8 million level, allowing the division to be better prepared for further cuts in 2011-12, or the division could restore some funds back into the budget.

WJCC’s superintendent’s budget was originally slated to be released Feb. 16, but has been delayed as a result of McDonnell’s recent education-related announcements. Prior to revealing his budget amendments, McDonnell also announced he would not delay the update to the local composite index that determines a locality’s ability to pay for its schools. If he had gone along with Kaine’s plan to delay the scheduled update to the LCI, WJCC would have an extra $2.3 million in state funding. York County would have $700,000 additional state dollars.

Now, the WJCC budget is slated to be presented at 4 p.m. on Feb. 25 in Building F of the James City County Government Building and will be televised live. Human Resources will notify adversely affected employees on Feb. 23, 24 and 25. “As my colleagues around the state have said, and as I have said now ad nauseam, education and school operations in WJCC will be years in recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression short of relief from where we are now,” Mathews wrote.

York County Schools Chief Financial Officer Dennis Jarrett said he didn’t want to estimate York’s shortfall until he sees the budget proposal from the House and the Senate on Sunday. York County released its superintendent’s budget last Thursday, which cuts $5,159,027 from the previous year's budget. The superintendent’s proposal cuts several positions through attrition; reduces field trips; eliminates educational reimbursement for employees; reduces technology refurbishment and more.

The York County School Board will have a public hearing on its superintendent’s proposal at 7 p.m. on Monday in the board room at York Hall.

Community members and parents are also decrying the Governor’s proposal. Members of local advocacy group Support Schools Now are circulating an e-mail from Sarah Geddes of the Alliance for Virginia’s Students. Her e-mail recommends communities contact their legislators as soon as possible to tell them to support students. She writes, “Experts are predicting that proposed cuts to state funding for education will lead to school teacher and staff layoffs in the tens of thousands. This means higher class sizes, and less individual attention from teachers.”