State cuts concern local school officials

RICHMOND — The Culpeper Public Schools budget is already tight, and likely new cuts in state funding may make it even leaner.

Larry Carter, acting superintendent of the Culpeper school system, said officials are working on solutions but that “it is not pleasant.”

Carter and other educators are concerned about the impact of Gov. Tim Kaine’s proposed cut of nearly $700 million in state education money. Culpeper’s share of that cut will be $4 million, Carter said.

With a $3 billion budget gap, legislators are going to have to make cuts, propose and pass money-saving bills and balance the budget during the 45-day session.

“I come to you tonight in a time of national economic distress,” Kaine told legislators in his State of the Commonwealth address last week. “People I talked to were worried. Worried about finding another job. Worried about how they’d provide Christmas for their children. Worried about how they’d pay their bills.”

But, Kaine said, the people he spoke with were hopeful and helping each other through.

Part of Kaine’s budget proposal was an almost $700 million cut in education funding. The cut will come in the form of caps on pay for administrators, support staff and central office employees.

“Educating our young people is one of the most fundamental things that government does,” Kaine said. “However, education is the single largest expenditure in the state budget and the revenue reductions necessary for 2010 are big enough that we will not be able to continue to leave education untouched.”

Carter said Culpeper opened two schools last year with little extra funds, which left the budget slim. The school district needs to be able to cover inflation costs and may not be able to do that with the projected cuts, Carter said.

The main issue Carter has with Kaine’s proposal is that the cuts are currently permanent.

“What happens when the economy improves?” Carter said.

The funds should be reinstated as the economy improves and the cuts should be temporary, he said.

Kaine also proposed up to a 30 cent per pack increase on the cigarette tax and promised to bid 30 capital construction projects worth $250 million by July 1 to create jobs for Virginians. With the 30 cent increase, Virginia’s cigarette tax will be about half the national average tax, Kaine said.

“I believe that the taxes on smoking should more closely match the budget costs that Virginia taxpayers incur because of smoking,” Kaine said.

In other legislative matters, Sen. R. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, has proposed bills that include withholding the names of people with permits to carry concealed handguns, several issues relating to the Freedom of Information Act and reenacting the bill on Durable Do Not Resuscitate orders.

Del. Ed Scott, R-Madison, is working on several bills, including one that would prevent convicted felons from possessing ammunition. Currently, the bill on felons’ possessing weapons does not account for ammunition.

He is also presenting a bill that requires schools to implement policies that allow parents of twins and multiples to decide if their children should be in the same classroom.