Rappahannock News

School board gives budget projection­s, endorses bill to increase state aid

- B J S Rappahanno­ck News sta

The Rappahanno­ck County Board of Supervisor­s and School Board held a joint session Tuesday evening to discuss potential budget recommenda­tions as the county prepares to cra a budget for the upcoming scal year.

Superinten­dent Dr. Shannon Grimsley shared a list of budget issues the county should consider when allocating funds:

► Possible cost cuts or increases to public school funding from Virginia’s General Assembly and new state mandates

► RCPS declining enrollment

► Maintainin­g the integrity of current programs

► Capital improvemen­ts and infrastruc­ture needs

Grimsley said based on current projects of the state budget, RCPS could see an increase in revenue of more than $325,000, which includes unspent school constructi­on funds.

Last year, the school board voted unanimousl­y to send to the Board of Supervisor­s its proposed $15.4 million budget, nearly $2 million more than what was proposed the year prior. That increase was primarily due to an expected larger infusion of cash from both the state and federal government­s relative to the year prior. The public schools are the county’s largest expenditur­e.

As a part of a community survey among students, teachers, sta and parents, they ranked their planning priorities ahead of scal year 2024. The number one priority, according to the survey, are teacher and sta salaries, followed by teacher bene ts, career and technical education, small class sizes and curriculum enrichment.

School safety was ranked number six out of a list of ten, jumping from ninth place last year in the aftermath of several high-pro le school shootings.

SCHOOLS LOBBY FOR BILL TO REMOVE CAPS ON STATE FUNDS

Public school representa­tives have been lobbying for the approval of House Bill 1433, which would remove a cap on certain funding the school receives from the state. The School Board on Tuesday unanimousl­y endorsed the legislatio­n.

The supplement­al aid the schools would receive if the cap was lifted could be used to provide for the cost of general instructio­n, support services, transporta­tion and facilities. Because of complicati­ons in state law, Rappahanno­ck County is one of the only localities in Virginia to have a cap on this type of state aid.

TASK FORCE IDENTIFIES FINANCIAL BURDENS FACING SCHOOLS

The School Innovative Finance Taskforce (SIFT) was founded by County Administra­tor Garrey Curry and Grimsley to focus on understand­ing current nancial difficulti­es facing the public schools and the county. The group delivered its rst report to the school board on Tuesday.

The report highlighte­d the fact that Rappahanno­ck County is currently required to cover 80% of its schools’ budget, with the other 20% coming from the state budget, putting Rappahanno­ck County at the top of the index for how much money a locality must contribute.

According to research from the taskforce, this is because of two main factors:

► The True Value of Property values property in land use at its theoretica­l full market value.

► The Adjusted Gross Income Factor is calculated in terms of mean income rather than by median income, meaning a few wealthy neighbors can tip the scales, and the county has no ability to tax income.

Last year the School Board and Supervisor­s in a meeting jointly declared that the formula the state used to fund schools disproport­ionately affects small schools like Rappahanno­ck rich with high value properties.

The report said that there is no expectatio­n for the formula determinin­g locality’s contributi­ons to change, and signi cant changes to the county’s land use vision is not anticipate­d. Enrollment is also declining, and the number of home-schooled and private-school students is increasing.

The taskforce recommende­d that the school board explore alternativ­es for supplement­al state aid and to nd a way to increase the headcount of students enrolled in Rappahanno­ck County to account for homeschool­ed and private school children who could be included in public school as partial credit.

The taskforce also suggested creating a new 501(c)3 private charitable endowment fund, but agreed this route was unlikely to provide immediate support.

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