Budget of $35 million recommended for New Kent’s school operations for FY20-21

New Kent superintendent of schools Brian Nichols presented his first budget to members of the school board during Monday night’s regular meeting.

Nichols’ recommended school general fund comes in at $34,788,631 for FY20-21. That figure is approximately $2,336,860 more than the current year’s budget. Factoring in the school textbook fund, nutrition budget, and grant fund, the recommended overall number for the next school fiscal year is $37,350,592.

Nichols is asking for $15,159,595 from county funding in the budget, an increase of $925,000. State revenue funding is expected to increase by $1,411,860 to $19,410,556, which is the equivalent of 7.8 percent.

Expenditure adjustments are expected to cost the school system about $355,000. Benefit adjustments are penciled in at $386,586.

New positions in the school district account for most of the proposed budget increase for New Kent’s school district. Among them include recommendations to hire four teachers, two school counselors, three bus drivers, two car drivers, and planning positions for the new elementary school being constructed. In total, the recommended hires total $1,032,725. Salary scale adjustments ($284,654) and a two-percent salary increase ($478,178) are also recommended in Nichols’ proposal.

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) was not presented at Monday night’s meeting as it is currently still undergoing evaluation.

The school board will continue to work on the budget at a Feb. 18 work session before making its presentation to the board of supervisors on March 9. A public hearing on the recommended budget will take place on March 16, with approval being slated sometime in April.