Schools face unpleasant budget options

By Gracie Hart
Staff Writer

Faced with cutting an estimated $4.8 million from the schools' budget, members of the Orange County School Board are considering every option.
Board members met last week in a budget worksession to discuss ways in which expenses could be reduced to balance a budget expected to decrease by $4.8 million. According to former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine's proposed fiscal 2011 budget, Orange County Public Schools will likely receive $2.4 million less than last year. Locally, school officials expect a corresponding reduction of $2.4 million in local funding-just one year after $2.7 million was cut from the budget.
Board members already are forced to consider cutting jobs. Last year, approximately 56 positions were eliminated, many of them from the central office. Early estimates this year indicate 79 positions may be on the line.
"The state is not just cutting the budget, this is a fundamental restructuring in how public education is funded in Virginia," Orange County Public School Superintendent Dr. Bob Grimesey said. "[The restructuring] has little to do with educating children [and more] to do with mandates. The budget I present will not be the budget I want to recommend. It will be the one I am forced [to]."
According to the Standards of Quality as set forth in the Code of Virginia, schools must meet or exceed student-teacher ratios in order to keep classes at manageable sizes. Exceeding the state-mandated ratio is up to each locality's discretion. Orange County can cut 79 positions and still be compliant with state class size requirements.
"This is not a recommendation," Orange County School Superintendent Dr. Bob Grimesey said. "This is what a compliance organization [would] look like."
One of the options board members examined included switching kindergarten from a full-day to a half-day system, which some localities are doing in order to save money. In Orange County, the change would only save $74,000 and result in the loss of 10 teaching positions. According to Chief Financial Officer Barbara Hill, the move would also lower the average daily membership which would decrease revenue and unemployment tax would increase from the loss of the positions. Board members ultimately decided that the savings was not worth the loss of the positions, decrease revenue and increased unemployment tax.
In an effort to keep the number of eliminated positions low, board members are also considering an across-the-board salary decrease, but not without differing opinions. District 1 board member Lou Thompson warned about the decrease in morale the salary cuts could have.
"Roll-backs have a morale factor," he said. "To me, they are a last resort."
District 4 board member Jerry Bledsoe said while wage roll-backs shouldn't be taken lightly, they should be considered.
"We need to do the least amount of damage [and consider] roll-backs if they save jobs," he said.
Dr. Grimesey agreed that protecting positions is important.
"There isn't a single position that isn't valuable," he said. "We are to the point now where we need to have a target and try to keep [position losses] as low as possible."
Staff members were given an opportunity to voice their opinions of potential reductions through an employee survey. More than 75 percent responded, saying reducing annual contracts would be the personnel reduction they could most manage with increased student-teacher ratios second; reduced contributions to health insurance premiums third and a general reduction in personnel fourth. Twenty-one respondents suggested a reduction in central office staff.
Personnel changes are not the only options being examined. Others include changes to athletic programs (see additional article), 10 percent non-personnel departmental cuts and eliminating activity buses.
More information about any position eliminations and all other strategies to recover the $4.8 million deficit will be discussed when Dr. Grimesey presents his budget to the school board Jan. 26.
The school board will present its budget to the Orange County Board of Supervisors in February, but will continue to revise it as late as May.