Lynchburg schools cut funding request, could reduce city pay cut

The Lynchburg School Board is reducing its budget request to the city by $500,000, in part to give officials the option of restoring a pending 3 percent pay cut for city employees.

In an effort to aid the city during lean economic times, the school board opted Tuesday to amend the division’s budget request to City Council. The move could ultimately put half a million dollars back in city coffers.

“Why not take this step to give it back to the city,” said Julie Doyle, school board chair. “Whether they use it for salaries or not will be up to them.”

Superintendent Paul McKendrick said the division will not require nearly as much money for COBRA and unemployment costs as budgeted. This is because the number of layoffs has been significantly reduced due to a large number of employees who took advantage of an early retirement incentive plan created by the board.

McKendrick and Doyle emphasized there was not a budgeting error or money stored away. The division could not fully realize how many people would retire until last month, and the incentive plan wasn’t final until after the budget was approved. The incentive plan, which has been hugely popular with school personnel, will mean the retirement of about about 50 staffers. The large amount of retirees has offset the number of layoffs in the division.

When the school system crafted its budget, approximately 68 positions were poised to be cut, so officials budgeted considerable amounts for COBRA and unemployment expenses. Officials said the number of people to be laid off continues to change daily, with personnel assignments for next year still shifting, but Tuesday’s personnel report included cutting only seven people.

During the tough budget season, schools officials faced a steep deficit and were charged with cutting millions from the division’s more than $80 million budget. After considerable discussion and debate, the board ultimately decided on cutting positions. The city on the other hand decided to cut pay.

McKendrick and Doyle said Tuesday’s move is a good gesture to show everyone is working as a community to get through the rocky economic climate. Board members were careful not to stipulate that the funds had to be used to restore salaries. Both McKendrick and Doyle also noted the amendment had been discussed with city leadership Monday.

“It’s a way to recognize how difficult this budget season has been for everyone,” Doyle said following the meeting.

When reached by phone Tuesday night, City Manager Kimball Payne said he needed to study the school system’s proposal further to determine if that was a viable option. He specifically said he needed to know where the school savings were coming from and whether they could be turned into a “sustainable” source of city revenue.

“If the schools are offering this up, I’ll certainly look at it,” Payne said. “It would be a big piece of what we’re trying to accomplish. It would be great, if it’s there and if it’s sustainable.”

Payne said the move to amend the budget request was not a city initiative, but rather something division officials pursued on their own.

He said if the city did reduce its contribution to the schools, it would be able to restore about 1 percent of the staffwide pay cut scheduled to take effect July 1. Restoring the entire cut would cost about $1.6 million.

Vice Mayor Bert Dodson said he felt Tuesday’s proposal showed a commendable level of support from school leaders and described the move as “gracious.”

Asked if the board’s proposal might bolster arguments that the school system is overfunded, Dodson said only a “cynical” or “anti-public school” person would take such a view.

“Only cynics would say they had this money all along,” he said, adding the division deserves praise for its “foresight” in implementing the retirement program. “The school budget runs pretty tight.”

Payne said he did not expect to be prepared to make a recommendation on this issue in time for City Council’s June 9 meeting. He does plan to include it in a presentation June 23, when council is scheduled to review the local budget situation in hopes of finding additional money for salaries.