<img class="size-medium wp-image-35285 alignright" src="https://theenterprise.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2020/06/budget_1591098330-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />By Taylor Boyd The Patrick County School Board approved the budget for fiscal year 2021-2022 at the Thursday, March 25 meeting. The budget is currently set at $29,699,792, which denotes an increase of $902,801 from the current fiscal year. Schools Superintendent Dean Gilbert said $421,180 of the current budget came from state contributions, with a required local match of $5,591,180. Gilbert said the local contribution is expected to increase by $481,621 next year, with grants contributing “very little” to the budget. The largest portion of the budget is needed for personnel. “By the time you pay people, and their benefits, and things of that nature, it’s a substantial amount of it,” he said. Gilbert noted that the budget is susceptible to change, depending on the budget Gov. Ralph Northam sets. “Right now, we’re at the point where the budget has been sent to Gov. Northam. He can either veto it, or he can send it back with suggested amendments, or he can adopt it. Right now, that’s what we’re waiting on,” he said.
