York School Board Chooses Leaders, Talks Budget

By Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Board Chair Mark Medford

The board voted unanimously Monday to reappoint Mark Medford as chair and Robert George as vice chair. At the same meeting, the board members receive a grim preliminary report on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The division is facing a projected net reduction of $947,077 in state funding, along with increased expenditures of $821,308. The estimates, prepared by Chief Financial Officer Dennis Jarrett, did not include $1.2 million in federal money for the Education Jobs Fund that has not yet been allocated.

In December, Gov. Bob McDonnell presented his proposed budget amendments for the second year in the biennium, which gave Jarrett a frame for his preliminary budget outlook. McDonnell proposed two amendments that could significantly impact school budgets; first, he suggested not funding a previously approved “hold harmless” that would provide relief to school districts negatively affected by an increase in the local composite index and second, he proposed allowing localities to ask their employees to contribute to their own retirement accounts, provided they receive 3 percent raises.

If the amendment to the “hold harmless” passed through the General Assembly, York County Schools would lose approximately $314,000 in funding. In his presentation Monday, Jarrett said the administration would not recommend requiring school employees to contribute to their own retirement funds; the division would then have to pay an additional $2.2 million toward the Virginia Retirement System.

Superintendent Eric Williams offered his early recommendations for budget cuts, cautioning that the school division’s funding could change depending on the decisions made in state and local government. He also said the division could recommend no salary increases for staff at this time.

He recommended several cuts based on a decreased enrollment; the division had nearly 200 fewer students this year than projected. These cuts would include nine full-time teaching positions, three full-time para-educator positions, materials, supplies, textbooks and workbooks, totaling in savings of $531,000. In addition, a full-time math resource teaching position at the Yorktown Elementary School and a coordinator of Assessment, Compliance and Intervention could also be lost through attrition.

For the second year in a row, he is suggesting further cuts of $100,000 to the textbooks budget. He also suggested reducing the contract length for the second Assistant Principals at two elementary schools, reducing school-based secretaries’ workdays and shifting York River Academy’s youth GED program duties to the school board office.

To generate some extra revenue, he recommended increasing tuition for preschool students by $150 per semester, which would save the division $10,000.

In Operations and Maintenance, Williams proposes reducing the bus fuel account by $97,660 and delaying school bus replacement again, saving another $85,000. The division would also delay filling an open position for a Warehouse Manager, saving $60,700.

Williams proposed reductions of 15 staff positions, but to meet special education needs, the division will have to add six teaching positions, bringing the net reduction to nine positions. His suggestions, in total, equaled a reduction of $1.4 million in expenditures. The division will have approximately $2.5 million in mandated new expenditures.

After hearing the preliminary report, George emphasized it is important to remember changes are likely to come during the General Assembly’s session, and hopefully the changes will be “in a positive direction.”

A public hearing on the budget will be held at the board’s meeting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 24 at York Hall. Follow the development of the budget on the division’s web site.