SCHOOL BUDGETS ON THIN ICE
Newport News, Hampton school boards freeze millions from budgets
Anticipating decreased state money because of the COVID-19 pandemic, school boards in Newport News and
Hampton have frozen raises and other items from next year’s budget.
Newport News has frozen or cut $5.4 million from its initially approved $330 million budget. Hampton has reduced its $262 million budget by about $8.1 million.
Both boards hope that they’ll be able to restore most of that funding, but that’s reliant on state revenue streams that appear in jeopardy.
“It’s very similar similar to the choices that we were faced with in the previous recession,” Mary Lou Roaseau, assistant superintendent of business and support services, told the Newport News school board Tuesday night.
State money is the majority of both district’s revenues — 63% of Newport News schools’ budget this year and 51% of Hampton’s.
Virginia’s finance secretary said last week that revenue
dropped about $700 million in April alone due to the effects of the pandemic. A multibillion loss in revenue is forecast over the next two years.
In April, the General Assembly voted to change the state’s budget for next year to freeze billions of dollars in new state spending, including millions of dollars in increased funding for local districts. Increased funding to add more school counselors was permanently axed.
Money that had been set aside to fund a 2% raise for teachers and expand the Virginia Preschool Initiative, among other things, was frozen while the state completes a new revenue forecast.
That forecast won’t be available until later this year. The state department of education has recommended that districts make plans for if it isn’t restored.
“There are quite a number of unknowns with the state revenue,” Roaseau told the Newport News school board.
Sales tax and lottery revenue that go to districts are expected to decline. Lottery profits dropped 28% in March alone, according to officials.
Hampton City Schools chief financial officer Brittany Dortch told the school board Wednesday night that they wouldn’t likely know the impact on sales tax revenue until June.
The state distributes some funds based on enrollment and in Hampton, enrollment in March was 401 more than the district had budgeted for. Dortch said that the district had expected that enrollment increase to bring an additional $2.4 million in state funds. Now there’s way to know how much the schools will receive.
The Newport News School Board voted 5-0 Tuesday evening to take out a planned salary increase — 3% for most employees. Two members who were up for re-election that day, John Eley and Maritsa Alger, weren’t present.
The board didn’t completely rule out raises though.
The city council granted the school board’s entire budget request earlier this month, which means that the division will get $2.5 million more. A 1% raise would cost about $2.3 million.
Roaseau suggested the board delay using that money for a raise until late fall or winter. That money could be also be used for a one-time bonus if the division doesn’t think it can pay for the raise in fiscal year 2022, hoping to avoid furloughs or layoffs.
“We would like to continue to keep the staff that we have serving the kids that we’re serving,” Roaseau.
Money that had been set aside for additional counselors and more elementary school security officers was put on hold. The board also voted to take out $1.5 million set aside for technology projects and $1.5 million for maintenance.
Some parts of the original budget are preserved though.
The division still plans to add more English as a second language staff, psychologists and social workers. The revised budget also includes an extra third tech support specialist.
The board also voted to roll back a planned health insurance premium increase, since the raise that would’ve offset those costs is now gone.
“We’re taking those funds that the city gave us and we’re safeguarding those in the hope that we can give some type of bonus or raise to our teachers, because they are definitely needed. We do hear you,” said board chair Gary Hunter. “But, we want to be as cautious as possible in this time.”
The Hampton School Board took up budget changes at a meeting on Wednesday evening, unanimously passing the changes.
Some of the largest increases in next year’s budget, a 2.5% raise for employees that would’ve cost $3.6 million and adjustments to salary scales that would’ve cost $3.3 million, were put on hold.
Teachers and support staff won’t move up a step on the salary scale on July 1. Employees will make the same amount at the start of next school year as they do now.
Hampton is keeping open the possibility of adding raises and pay scale adjustments back after the state budget reforecast though.
“If we find that there is a place of strength as it relates to going forward for our budget, we would recommend moving that ahead,” Superintendent Jeffery Smith told the board.
The district couldn’t wait any longer to see the impact, Smith said — they needed to get contracts for next school year to employees. Contracts were slated to start going out Thursday.
Hampton is still planning to pay all of a projected 5.3% increase in health-care costs, so employee insurance premiums will not rise next fiscal year.
The district is permanently removing four additional school counselors from the budget based on the change in state funding. It’s suspending funds for a psychologist, social workers, a security officer and $290,000 from the capital project budget, among other items.
A plan to make sure all employees make at least $10 an hour, which would’ve cost about $30,000, is also on hold.
Other parts of the budget are still going forward, including hiring over a dozen teachers, 17 instruction assistants, 20 cafeteria monitors, a school security officer, a mental health service provider and other support staff.
Both boards hope that they’ll be able to restore most of that funding, but that’s reliant on state revenue streams that appear in jeopardy.