CulpeperCountySchool Board10/9/2018 ~ 2:58:38PM
Minutes
December 3, 2007
Page 1
CulpeperCountySchool Board
Minutes
December 3, 2007
A budget work session of the School Board of Culpeper County was held December 3, 2007 in the School Board Central Office (Colin Owens Conference Room) at 450 Radio Lane at 6:00 p.m.
Present were Elizabeth Hutchins (Cedar Mountain District), Chair; George Dasher (Stevensburg District), Vice-Chair; Robert Beard (East Fairfax District);
Jennifer McCauley (Salem District); Claudia Vento (West Fairfax District); Division Superintendent Dr. David Cox, Clerk of the Board Jeff Shomo, Parliamentarian Eric Conti, Budget Analyst Lauren Willis, and Deputy Clerk Pearl Jamison.
Robert Jenkins III (Catalpa District) was absent. Leanne Jenkins (Jefferson District) arrived at 6:08 p.m.
At 6 p.m. Ms. Hutchins called the meeting to order and Dr. Cox called the roll.
On motion of Mr. Dasher seconded by Ms. Vento, the Board approved the adoption of the agenda. Motion carried 5-0 by voice vote.
Dr. Cox said staff will present the instruction, technology, and facilities part of the budget this evening.
Instruction
Dr. Conti said the supplements for EVHS teachers are noted on page 4.
Dr. Conti reviewed the proposed instruction budget. He highlighted some of the proposed increases.
Virtual High School EVHS - $30,000
Service Contract for Copiers EVHS & YES - $80,000
Logo/Printing Costs/Office Supplies and Setup EVHS & YES - $60,000
Graduation Expenses/AP Testing EVHS - $35,000
IDEA Materials YES - $5,000
Textbooks - $23,000
Mr. Beard asked for a subtotal of objects 1113 through 2800.
Dr. Conti distributed the proposed school allocations for 2008/2009. He reviewed the school allocations. He said principals get 75% of their allocation at the start of the year and 25% at the end of the year. He said the per pupil allocation is $140. Dr. Cox said this year we are operating at a 50% allocation vs. 100% allocation. He said to restore allocations to 100% of the projected enrollment the cost is $586,000. Dr. Conti said the proposed increase for FY2009 for instruction is $11,749,948.
Ms. McCauley asked where hourly AP teachers are paid from. Ms. Willis said they are included under parttime salaries under code 1321.
Facilities
Mr. Shomo said this line includes Mr. Spencer’s salary and benefits. The proposed increase for FY2009 for facilities is $5,205.
Technology
Dr. Nicolay highlighted some of the proposed increases:
Cisco Engineer - $85,000
Webmaster - $46,000
Network Tech - $84,000
Lab Technicians - $44,000
ITRT - $174,400
Telecommunications for EVHS & YES - $30,000
Computer Replacement/Upgrades - $450,000
VOIP Technology - $540,000
Mr. Dasher asked if phones should be in CIP. Mr. Shomo said phones have never been included in the CIP.
Dr. Nicolay said we currently have out an RFP for computer purchase lease. Dr. Cox said we recycle computers all the time. Dr. Nicolay said the computers we got rid of this year were 10 plus years old. Dr. Nicolay said the RFP allows the school system to enter into multiple contracts per year. Ms. McCauley asked if the lease purchase price increases each year. Dr. Nicolay said it would be the same amount per year. Mr. Shomo said the $450,000 is for computer equipment everywhere besides EVHS and YES. He said this would be a yearly cost.
Dr. Nicolay said the proposed increase for FY2009 for technology is $1,336,454.
Ms. Vento said as far as teacher salaries she would agree to $38,000 with a step.
Mr. Beard said last year we had a $65 million budget. He said we should discuss what we can add on to the $68.9 million budget. He said the real question is will we get that next year. He said we won’t know the Governor’s recommendation until December 19th. He said the collections for this year are $3 million behind locally. He said unless there is a big surprise in state and local funding the only increase we could receive is from an increase in taxes. He said the $85 million proposed budget equates to a 27 cents tax increase. He suggested that staff create a budget based on $70 million.
Ms. Jenkins said she agrees we need to be mindful of what we propose. She said we have to have more funding than our current budget or we can’t open two new schools.
Mr. Dasher said he agrees with getting a minimum number and building on it. He said we could remain flat for all schools and add a delta number for EVHS and YES.
Mr. Beard asked what it costs to move each teacher up one step. Ms. Willis said $540,000.
Ms. Willis distributed the FY2009 preliminary salary increase options. She briefly reviewed some of the options available.
Mr. Shomo said our health insurance provider said our rates will increase by 13% for FY2009.
Ms. Shomo said EasternViewHigh School will cost $8.1 million and YowellElementary School will cost $4.5 million. In addition to those figures we are looking at a $1 million increase in health insurance, $500,000 for utilities and diesel, and $150,000 for Property & Casualty insurance.
Ms. Jenkins said she would like to see an alternative education plan in place. She said it needs to be a priority and budget neutral.
Ms. McCauley said safe schools are found in safe communities. She said we are doing a disservice to our community by suspending/expelling our students.
Dr. Cox said we have known for along time that this point was coming. He said this conversation has happened for several years. He said he hopes it will be a priority of the community to do everything we can to open these schools. Dr. Cox said we can’t make final decisions until we have good local revenue figures.
Mr. Beard said in January we will have Mr. Bossio’s recommendation to work with. He said historically it has been pretty close to what we will receive. He said he wants to see where we can make cuts up front.
Ms. McCauley said we can’t afford to do new positions, pay increases, and open two new schools. She said not opening the two new schools is not an option. She said some of the proposed increases are beyond the norm for other positions in this area.
Mr. Dasher said the process has the School Board sending a number forward before we have the actual revenues. He said he could not support staff preparing budget cuts until we have actual numbers.
Ms. Jenkins said we cannot open two new schools if we get flat funding.
Mr. Beard concurred with Mr. Dasher he said we should wait to submit the budget until after we have revenues.
Ms. Hutchins said she could not support not opening the two new schools. She said we need to look at trimming the budget because we will not get what we need to fully operate.
Mr. Dasher said he would recommend cutting 10 teachers at the middle school level. Ms. Jenkins said she could go with cutting 9 teachers because we need the math specialist to help with our scores.
Mr. Beard suggested that staff prepare a $75 million budget.
Ms. McCauley asked how much we actually receive from the Virginia State Lottery. Dr. Cox said the money does fund public education; however, they removed the resources they displaced.
Ms. McCauley said she hesitates to require this work until we have actual numbers. She suggested that staff just look for items to cut.
Mr. Dasher said he would like to work with the numbers on his own. He said he still wants to open both new schools.
Ms. Vento asked when the budget is due to the county. Dr. Cox said Mr. Bossio’s schedule reflects the budget being delivered on December 17th.
Mr. Beard said the schools established the date of December 17th. He said under the code we have to have it in by April. He said we will have to do cuts whether it is now or later. He said he feels February is a good time for the School Board to submit the budget.
Dr. Cox said waiting late to hire a significant number of staff really handicaps the hiring process. He said the sooner we have a commitment for local funding the better we are. He said we typically hire 80-100 positions each year. He said an early commitment from the Board of Supervisors would be helpful.
Ms. Hutchins suggested that Dr. Cox ask Mr. Bossio for a target date. She said she would like to see a budget with $38,000 beginning teacher salary moving a step with 1.8% increase for support staff with bare bone offerings and alternative education.
Dr. Conti asked for clarification on bare minimum. Ms. Jenkins said open two new schools with alternative education and level funding. Dr. Cox said there is not a way to decrease the budget significantly without decreasing programs.
Dr. Cox said we are spending $9,000 per student. He said Rappahannock is spending $13,000 per student.
Mr. Beard said he firmly believes the board’s dream, vision, and goals are presented in the budget. He said the problem is we won’t receive the revenue we need. He said to balance the budget we will have to give up goals.
On motion of Ms. McCauley seconded by Ms. Vento, the Board voted to adjourn at 8:10 p.m. Motion carried 6-0 by voice vote.
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JEFFREY R. SHOMO, CLERKELIZABETH HUTCHINS, CHAIR