By Debbie Hall and Angela Jones
Frustrated at being portrayed as the root of the county’s budgetary woes, members of the Patrick County School Board delivered a stern message to their counterparts serving on the Board of Supervisors.
“Fix your own problems and we’ll work on ours,” Walter Scott, of the Smith River District said. “We have cut positions; we’ve cut two bus routes” to reduce spending. “What have they (supervisors) done the last few years,” he asked.
After approving budgets with deficits for several years and using the county’s contingency fund to make up the shortfall, the supervisors recently approved an up to 11-cents real estate tax increase to help address the deficit of more than $3 million in the recommended $55 million fiscal 2020 budget.
The budget committee met with department heads and made some cuts, approved level funding for others and continues to work on the spending plan. Additionally, the county plans to refinance certain debts and seek other revenue streams, but even then, the deficit will remain at an estimated $1.5 million.
Supervisors announced at their April 8 meeting they are seeking help from the state to determine the minimum amount of local funding the county is required to give the school division, and alleged the division did not pay its debt or give proposed pay hikes with county funds.
Brandon Simmons, chairman, and Ronnie Terry, vice chairman, said neither is true.
“They (board of supervisors) say they had to draw out of the contingency fund to pay our debt, which they did not have to do,” said Terry, of the Blue Ridge District.
He recalled that several years ago, the county approved a request from the school division to borrow $25 million for renovations to several schools. He estimated the debt service (payment) on that loan was about $1 million per year.
Later, the county decided to refinance that loan, and “saved a bunch of money” that may have ended up in the contingency fund, Terry said.
But “the downside is those payments kept going up and up and now are over $2 million” per year, he said.
The division managed to make those payments and sometimes paid extra, Simmons, of the Dan River District, said.
Last year, the county approached the school division about taking over the debt, noting the county budget included the nearly $2.5 million payment. But after the division agreed, the county requested the division commit to giving them at least $600,000 — and more if possible — toward that payment. The school division provided $700,000 to help, according to school officials Thursday and previous reports.
“To help the county out, the school board promised to pay $600,000 dollars to the board of supervisors, we paid $700,000 dollars, which was more than we promised,” Simmons said and added there was no legal requirement the school division “had to give them money if they took over the debt.”
With the funds from the school division, the debt service “only really cost them an estimate of $1.6 million,” Simmons said.
Terry said he understands the county made the payment late. “I understand the county is in bad shape, but we didn’t do that,” he said.
“I’m surprised the teachers stay. Since 2011, our budget, not including the debt service, went up by $2.6 million and that was for pay raises, health insurance and” contributions to the Virginia Retirement System, Terry said. “Nothing went to the educational side” to help students and teachers in the classroom.
“I think we should start doing state comparisons on help within the schools,” Terry said, adding that each year, supervisors “claim they give us all their money. They don’t give us anything compared to what everyone else gets.
“This is the best school system in the state as far as I’m concerned, and we’re always last,” Terry said, adding the division has been “at the bottom of the list as far as local effort” for years. Last year, the county gave about 7 percent more than required, largely due to the debt service.
But that is a long way from the state average of local effort, which is 111 percent, Terry said.
“I would love to have a board that we could sit down and talk to,” he said, adding that is not the case. One of the school board’s biggest disappointments is that “they have a chairman that knows better.”
He was referring to Rickie Fulcher, who currently serves as chairman of the supervisors. Fulcher also served on the school board in the past.
In other matters at their meeting Thursday, the board also approved a personnel report and consent agenda.
