The Patrick County School Board approved its more than $36 million proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Schools Superintendent Jason Wood said this $36,747,259.98 is the first budget in a couple of years the division didn’t have federal funds for some staffing positions.
“We had some success coaches, some other assistants that we were not able to continue with their employment. Each year over the last four years our ‘Other Amendments’ to our budget and also our ESSER/CARES funds have decreased, and those funds have been exhausted. Now it’s just reports we get to send to the state about how we did spend it,” he said.
As a result, the division is operating on a tight budget. Because of the calculation tool and the division’s lowering enrollment, Wood said it’s anticipated to get even tighter for upcoming budgets.
The budget follows the Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) model guidance, Wood said.
“The majority of all of our line items fall within their range other than Transportation because we’re a very rural community, and our Technology because we’re a one-to-one school division, and then our size makes that also difficult,” he said.
According to the division’s budget, $24,020,915.49, or 65 percent, is allocated for instruction. Operation and Maintenance will receive $3,239,911.36, or nine percent of the budget, and $2,598,135.44, or seven percent, is for pupil transportation.
Under the budget, Technology receives $2,197,886.27, or six percent, School Food Service receives five percent, or 1,751,968.48, and the Facilities line receives two percent, or $787,263.80.
Wood said Administration, Attendance, and Health receives $2,151,179.14, or six percent of the budget.
“That’s superintendent, assistant superintendents, our special education department, nurses,” administrative “assistants, financial department, all that goes under Administration. I know that conversation …, ‘Well, look what the administrators are making.’ That’s not just administrators,” Wood said, adding that six percent is still at the bottom end of the VSBA model guidance.
The appropriation from the county has decreased by $229,903 for next year.
“Our total loss of revenue from this current year to next year will be $648,749. So, it will be a savings to our appropriations board, which is the board of supervisors, of $229,903 next year, and a grand total loss of revenue for us of $648,749,” he said.
The budget includes a proposed percentage pay increase, which comes from the state. Wood said the division will receive a portion of that for Standards of Quality (SOQ) positions.
Other budget highlights include maintaining employee contributions to health insurance, an additional reading specialist that is required, a special education intervention specialist, and an additional elementary guidance counselor.
“A small few highlights, but when you have a decrease in your total budget, we’re doing the best we can with what we receive,” Wood said.
As the governor has until March 24 to approve a budget, Wood said he might have to present the budget without the finalized state budget.
“Both proposals would be a $270,000 increase if that is the calc tool that gets corrected, so that $630,000 may not hurt us as much if the governor does approve the presented Senate or House version. We’re hopeful for that,” he said.
Over the past four years, Wood noted the school division returned about $1.3 million in School Resource Officer (SRO) reimbursements to the county “to try to be part of a solution for the economic challenges that their board and our board are facing.”
If the governor signs off on a state budget, Wood said the division is able to give back an additional $200,000 in SRO reimbursements to the county.
“We still are thankful that we were able to give the old school board office to them for their use in the future. We’re thankful that we have a great working relationship with the board of supervisors, and we have for the last four years and we look forward to that continued good working relationship,” he said.
When he ran for the position four years ago, Rob Martin, of the Dan River District, said he was asked about his biggest concern with the budget.
“One thing I said was that the wasteful spending, because normally that’s what it is. I grew up with an elementary school principal who was a principal for 40 years and a board of supervisor” member, “and I grew up in Carroll County. At the time, every locality was given the Required Local Effort (RLE), which is required by the state, Required Local Match (RLM), which is required by the state, plus $10 million,” he said.
Martin said it was a major shock to join the school board not knowing all the facts and be told the division only gets the RLE and RLM.
Over the past nine months, Martin said he contacted most of the state’s 133 school divisions.
“We’re the only one that I found out of over 80 school divisions that I’ve contacted that only get RLE and RLM and nothing else,” he said.
Martin said he doesn’t like not planning or being prepared for the future.
“I hope this board in the future will at least request extra funds from the locality just like the agreement that we came into two years ago, so we can start building up a spare fund just in case we have to use it to protect our employees and protect our buildings,” he said.
Amy Walker, chairman and of the Mayo River District, said she can’t help but wonder what else the school division could do if it had more funding. “We do a very good job with what we have,” she said.
The proposal budget will be considered by the Patrick County Board of Supervisors on March 24.
In other matters, the board:
*Recognized Senior BETA Scholarship winners.
*Recognized Junior and Senior BETA State winters.
*Heard from Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC) President Dr. Greg Hodges and Dr. Stewart Robertson, who thanked the board for its donation of leasing funds from the Patrick County High School (PCHS) cell tower to the Patrick County Education Foundation’s Patrick Promise.
*Heard the superintendent’s report.
*Approved the consent agenda.
*Approved changes to the PCHS handbook.
*Approved changes to the elementary schools’ handbook.
*Approved policy updates.
*Approved the personnel report as amended.
