School Board OKs $48.7 Million in Cuts

By Melissa Arseniuk

Originally published at 8:16 a.m., April 8, 2008
Updated at 3:37 p.m., April 8, 2008

The Loudoun County School Board last night approved $48,737,891 in budget reduction recommendations made by Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III after making just two changes.

Bob Ohneiser (Broad Run District) was the sole board member to oppose the amended recommendations.

The vote came after more than 3 1/2 hours of mostly failed motions and debate over adjustments.

While Ohneiser proposed several motions to avoid delaying the purchase of $4.2 million in science textbooks and Jennifer Bergel (Catoctin District) introduced numerous, equally fruitless motions to keep five of 10 previously proposed new substitute custodial positions afloat, the board approved just two alterations to a list of proposed cuts that Hatrick released on April 2.

Hatrick made the proposals after the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors last Tuesday approved a 19 percent increase in the property tax rate, from 96 cents to $1.14 per $100 of assessed value. The approved budget cut about $48.7 million from the district's funding request for fiscal year 2009, giving schools about half of their requested increase.

The school board had requested an increase of $103.8 million, or 15 percent, over its fiscal year 2008 operating budget.

A motion made by Priscilla B. Godfrey (Blue Ridge District) Monday night to implement full-day kindergarten at three of four elementary schools in western Loudoun passed. The school board didn't determine which of the three schools in Aldie, Lincoln, Hillsboro and Middleburg would receive the program.

Tom Marshall (Leesburg District), Thomas E. Reed (At-Large), and J. Warren Geurin (Sterling District) voted against the plan to expand kindergarten at the schools.

Hatrick spoke against the prospect of introducing full-day kindergarten in the midst of a budget crunch.

"It would be a false start for us to start implementing full-day kindergarten when we have no prospect of being able to fund it in the operating budget across the county, or in the capital budget to build all the classrooms we would need in order to accommodate full-day kindergarten," he said.

To introduce three full-day kindergarten programs, $126,442 was reallocated from the budget for electronic white boards and an additional $32,925 was diverted by deciding not to purchase PDAs for physical education teachers.

A motion also received sufficient support to give 12-month classified employees two additional paid holidays per year, at a cost of $342,500. The board's original budget included four such vacation days for classified employees, all of which would have been eliminated under Hatrick's plan.

The $342,500 required to pay for the holiday time was diverted from funding earmarked for library books and other media supplies.

The superintendent's remaining 10 reduction recommendations were given the go-ahead. Approved cuts include increasing class sizes throughout the school system by one student per class (which nullified the need for 44 elementary teachers, 26 middle school teachers, and 30 high school teachers and saved $7,362,500), reducing ESL staffing to the tune of $1,924,848 and reducing non-personnel-related departmental provisions by 5.8 percent, or $6,604,563.

The superintendent cautioned board members that the budget process would have to change.

"We've got to begin to start talking sooner rather than later about ways that we want to change the structure of our budget," he said. "We're going to have to look … for all the savings we can find that do not fundamentally change the program that we will offer to our students."

Hatrick called the Board of Supervisors' decision to deny a large portion of the school board's budget "a good indicator of the kind of economic times that we're going to find ourselves in for the next year, at least, if not more."

"You might have as little as $33, $34 (or) $35 million in new money to spend next year -- and unless the enrollment just falls out the bottom, you're not going to be able to even give a step increase, open new schools and account for enrollment increased in fiscal year '10 without changing some of the nature of the way we do business," he warned.

"We are clearly going to have to look at fees for selected school activities; we're going to have to look at increases in summer school tuition … we may have to look at charging for payroll deduction when it's done for the benefit of the Loudoun Education Association, for example, or payroll deduction for 403(b) plans for employees … fees for PSAT and AP tests," he said.

Hatrick also suggested the board re-examine the way students are bussed into schools, and the "viability of small schools, either making better use of them, or perhaps combining them."

He went on to suggest, "the two schools that bear the most looking are Aldie and Middleburg."

Though School Board Vice Chairman John Stevens (Potomac District) ultimately voted to support Hatrick's reductions, he expressed regrets.

"In general, I think we picked things over people tonight," he said, adding, "this budget process is broken. There is a disconnect between the school board and the Board of Supervisors."

Meanwhile, longtime school board member Reed said it isn't a matter of being broken or unbroken. He said the process has been equally as "broken" since he first took office.

"Yes, the process is broken, but it's an issue of service delivery," he said.

Once the operating budget reconciliations were finalized, the board quickly approved increasing the cost of cafeteria meals by 10 cents. Reed opposed the decision.

The change won't affect low-income students who do not pay for cafeteria meals. Food services currently require $900,000 in supplemental funding annually.

The board also voted unanimously to support the previously announced Capital Improvements Plan budget but decided not to discuss the details of the Capital Asset Preservation Program last night, instead, deferring debate to tonight's meeting.

The board will resume budget talks in Ashburn this evening. The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the School Board Meeting Room.

Tagged: budget, education, politics, school board

Your Thoughts...

Are you happy that the school year is over?