Charles City schools asked to return $436,000 to county

Before Charles City’s school board could address issues regarding the 2014-15 school budget, they ran into a request that has put this year’s budget in major flux.

Superintendent of schools Dr. Janet Crawley announced at the Feb. 11 work session that county supervisors have requested that schools return $436,732 in this year’s budget. And school board members weren’t happy, to say the least.

Already this year, schools have lost $22,416 as matching funds for a school resource officer (later allocated to Charles City Sheriff’s Office) and $86,150 in capital improvement funds. School officials originally were going to ask for return of capital improvement funds for emergency repairs to the schools, and according to Crawley, at least half was planned to be granted. Now, those funds may never reach the school board. In total, more than $545,298 is tabled to come out of the school’s budget if the request carries through.

“We knew supervisors were thinking about this since August,” said Crawley. “To have it come up now is devastating.

“When you ask someone to cut this amount of money, then you can expect to have some personnel decisions to be made,” said Crawley.

Complicating matters are programs immediately needing attention. School board members are searching for $15,000 to help repair the school’s track for the upcoming season. If unable to find the money, schools may close the track for safety issues not just to students, but to the community as well, something at-large member Preston Adkins emphasized.

“I think if we can’t get these repairs done, we need to lock the gates of the track,” he said. “I know several members of the community use the track, but they need to see the severity of the matter and the repairs that need to be made.”

Concerned parents and citizens spoke on the issue during the public comment period, concerned with the supervisors’ request that was labeled outrageous.

“Why is so much money being kept back from the school board?” said regular attendee Elenora Robinson. “Are they taking money from the schools to fund the county?”

It’s no secret to community members that county funds are dwindling. Currently, Charles City is in a legal battle with Waste Management, one of the top revenue providers for the county (see related story online).

“Anytime you take money from the division, you are hurting the kids,” continued Robinson. “You need to ask supervisors why they are doing this and ask them where is the money going.”

District 2 representative Barbara Crawley expressed displeasure with the request from supervisors as well.

“When we did this budget, we cut everything but our throats,” said the disgruntled member.

Superintendent Crawley requested school board members to ask for a formal letter from supervisors requesting the funds. That motion passed unanimously, but the outgoing superintendent commented about the funds and the task to find them.

“I would like supervisors to go through our budget and tell us what we need and don’t need,” said Crawley. “They will see everything we have requested is essential for operating the school system.”