Close to $1.5 million shortfall in $28.1 million school budget

As New Kent School Board members mulled over a 16-page document consisting of justification sheets for budget requests, it became evident by the silence in the room– tough times lie ahead.

School finance director Ralph Westbay and superintendent of schools Rick Richardson presented the document and fielded questions from board members during Monday’s budget work session.

Discussion over balancing a proposed $28,127,900 FY2013-14 budget, that includes a two percent across the board pay hike for employees, became keen. The bottom line results in a net revenue shortfall of $1,463,656 that board members may have to face.

In a recap of finances, Westbay’s estimates of funding from each level of government became clearer. Federal revenues are projected to come in at $974,630, a decrease of $204,952 from the current year’s budget.

State revenues will be a little higher than the projected $12,629,643 Westbay presented two weeks earlier at another work session since Gov. Bob McDonnell’s budget will allot an additional $29,006, bringing the new total to $12,658,649. That figure is $620,282 more than revenue received from the state for the current year.

Finally, county revenue is projected to be $11,734,595, a decrease of $249,582 from the current year.

Additional revenue from other sources that support the school’s textbook fund and nutrition program bring the total revenue expected to $26,201,170.

Richardson addressed the board on adjusting teacher pay scales, an area of emphasis in the budget. His concern centers on providing sufficient compensation for teachers entering the school system as well as those with tenure and years of service.

“We must be able to compete with the private sector, not just the public sector,” he said. “In the high need areas such as special education and math, private sectors are paying sometimes two, two and a half times more with their starting salary than somebody here.”

He gave an example of a six-year teacher losing nearly 24 percent of their paycheck after taxes and insurance.

Westbay, meanwhile, introduced two strategic plans aimed at phasing in salary increases to bolster the pay scale. A 10-year option would cost $28,658 per year for the next 10 years, while a four-year phase-in plan would cost schools $205,359 per year.

Both plans aim at eventually reaching a pay scale that starts with a beginning teacher receiving $40,000. The scale would then rise in 30 steps to a top level of $60,704. Under the current pay scale, salaries range from $36,720 to $58,740 in 38 steps.

While Westbay made it clear that other plans can be implemented, District 2 board representative Dean Simmons wanted to make sure the school system is competitive.

“We need to take baby steps,” he said. “But we need to look into more of a five or six year plan. Four years is a big chunk of money while 10 years is too long of a time. By the time we finish the 10-year plan, we will still be playing catch-up.”

Similar to last year’s budget preparation, Richardson divided school needs in the 16-page document into tiers. Items on tier one are deemed most crucial with items on tiers two and three declining in significance of importance. Also on the tiers list is a separate item for baseline and salary adjustment, which is listed above tier one.

Tier one items include 8.5 new teaching positions and three technology support positions to be filled. Coupled with baseline and salary adjustments, the total amount of those expenditures is $1,174,069.

Tier two items consist of three new teaching positions and one technology support position, mainly focusing on a projected enrollment increase at all four schools (estimated FY 2013-14 enrollment is 3,005). Other expenditures in tier two focus on facility grounds keeping, equipment replacement, textbook adoption, and a variety of technology support. Tier two costs total $413,191.

Tier three includes addition of two new teaching positions and one technology support position due to an increase in class size enrollment. Other expenditures include worker compensation and custodial reduction as far as the number of hours spent in schools. Costs in tier three total $181,760.

All three tiers combined total $1,769,020. But with an estimated savings of $305,364 in the current school year’s budget, the total revenue shortfall is the aforementioned $1,463,656.

“Why don’t we go to the county [Board of Supervisors] with this whittled budget?” Simmons asked. “We need to present what we need to them.”

Richardson said so far there is no hard number on how much supervisors will appropriate to schools for the upcoming year.

“We need to sustain the level of services and we need to show supervisors that this is what we need,” Simmons said. “We’re cutting our own goals if we do not do this.”

District 5 representative Gail Hardinge spoke on preparation needed before taking the matter to supervisors.

“We need every bit of info we can get on these needs,” she said. “We have to be prepared to answer every question they have.”

The school board has scheduled a March 18, 5:30 p.m. public hearing on the budget in the high school auditorium.