Furloughs possible in Greene Co. if state cuts school funds

A proposed cut in state education funding to the tune of about $580,000 would be devastating to the Greene County School District, according to Superintendent Dave Jeck.

“Normally when the state says it is going to give you half a million less you get it from the county, but the county is telling us to expect no new funding for 2010-2011,” said Jeck. “If we don’t get help from the county we’ll have to make some very deep cuts that will set us back several years. We’ll have to get into the classrooms, and very seriously consider furloughs for teachers, administrators and other staff.

The threat came with Governor Bob McDonnell’s announcement last week that he will support updating the index that determines how much state money each of the state’s 134 school districts receives.

It’s an ability-to-pay system, based primarily on each locality’s real estate values and retail sales tax.

McDonnell explained that for nearly 40 years the index has offered an impartial means by which to determine state and local shares for funding, and that local officials understand the fluctuations.
“Ensuring that we have a fair formula that is implemented without regard to temporary or political considerations is the best means by which to appropriate education funding in the commonwealth,” McDonnell said. “Every time the index is readjusted some school systems gain funding, while others receive less.”

The bottom line is the higher the index, the more wealthy the locality. Therefore, the less state money the school district receives.

Outgoing Governor Tim Kaine had proposed freezing the local composite index for one year, and that rattled some Northern Virginia localities, which would have lost about $128.3 million in state funding, according to McDonnell’s office.

But if the index is updated Northern Virginia’s gain is most of Virginia’s loss. Greene County was looking at a zero-based budget for the coming fiscal year – and possible cuts to agencies of between 5 and 10 percent—before Gov. McDonnell made his announcement.

While the majority of school districts in the state will lose funding if the index is unfrozen, Fairfax County gains more than $61 million, Loudon County gains more than $34 million, and Prince William County gains more than $22 million.

The press release announcing the Governor’s proposal to undo the freeze said the freeze was unprecedented. But Kim Powell, Greene County Public Schools Business & Finance Director said we are living in unprecedented times.

“It was also unprecedented that Gov. McDonnell opted not to introduce his own budget,” Powell said. “School districts like Greene simply don’t have the amenities, programs or staff to cut without impacting basic, core programs. It’s really disheartening when you hear about things that other localities are considering for cuts to make ends meet and recognize that we don’t have those positions or programs serving our kids in the first place.”

Prior to McDonnell’s announcement, Chairman of the Greene County Board of Supervisors Steve Catalano had warned that any state cuts that affected county agencies would have to be absorbed by those agencies.

“I don’t want to touch the reserve fund, and I don’t want to raise taxes,” said Catalano, “but if the state continues not to fund its mandated programs, eventually, taxes will have to go up.”

Vice-Chairman Buggs Peyton said that along with fire and rescue and police, the county is compelled to fund education.

“But it’s going to have to be with a tremendous tightening of the belt,” Peyton said. “There will be significant cuts to county departments.”

Other localities are not taking Gov. McDonnell’s announcement lightly.

The School Board of the City of Virginia Beach – which receives approximately 55 percent of its funding from the Commonwealth—passed a resolution urging the members of the Virginia Beach Delegation to the General Assembly to support the freeze the Composite Index as suggested by Gov. Kaine prior to his departure from office.

It called upon its local community, civic, business and other political leaders to do the same, and the 14 school districts in the Greater Hampton Roads region – where the total estimated impact is $58,425,949—followed suit. On February 9, regional superintendents sent a statement to their Legislative Delegation calling on them to implement a strategic effort to convince the Governor and General Assembly to maintain the FY 2011 freeze as included in the introduced budget.

And to Greene’s south, there’s a multi-million dollar revenue dispute between Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville about state funding.

Recent reports indicate that some Albemarle officials believe their schools are being cheated because the index fails to account for a revenue-sharing agreement under which Albemarle gave Charlottesville $18 million this year. But Charlottesville officials are arguing that the formula was in effect when the revenue-sharing agreement was struck and that trying to change it now is unreasonable.

Delegate Rob Bell, R-Albemarle County, submitted an amendment during this year’s General Assembly session that would have the state account for the 1982 agreement, meaning that Albemarle schools would get about $2.6 million more state funding in fiscal 2012 and Charlottesville would lose that money, if the proposal passes. The House of Delegates is still considering the amendment, though most agree that if the amendment passes the House, it could receive more heat in the Senate.

Both the Charlottesville and Albemarle school divisions are struggling financially, with Charlottesville schools having to come up with as much as a few million dollars worth of cuts and Albemarle bracing for as much as $13 million less funding during the next fiscal year.

All told, Gov. McDonnell’s proposed update will cost the state $29 million in FY 2011. To cover this increased funding, McDonnell will recommend to the General Assembly the transfer of $13 million from Literary Fund balances; $8 million through the use of available balances in the Health Insurance Fund to reduce state health insurance premiums; $5.2 million will be found in Real ID savings and an available $3 million will be captured in additional Non-General Fund balances. Budget recommendations will continue to be made and communicated to the legislature in the coming days.

However, state officials have reminded school districts that the Governor’s recommendation would have to be adopted in the final 2010-2012 budget adopted by the 2010 General Assembly for it to be implemented.