Lynchburg School Board to vote on budget later this month

By: Annie McCallum | Lynchburg News and Advance
Published: March 04, 2009

Lynchburg City School Board delayed the approval of its 2009-2010 budget again Tuesday.

Officials held off on budget talks pending official state funding figures, leaving the fate of potential cuts to positions and programs unknown.

Superintendent Paul McKendrick said the division expects to get state numbers Friday, and hopefully those figures will also offer insight about the impact of the federal stimulus package. Even though the General Assembly OK’d a state budget on Saturday, details on its effect on local funding aren’t yet clear.

Lynchburg board members decided to hold a special meeting March 12 to discuss budget issues and plan to OK their budget at a regular meeting on March 17.

McKendrick said he has talked to City Manager Kimball Payne and it shouldn’t be an issue to delay approving the division’s more than $80 million budget. Lynchburg education officials previously committed to having a detailed budget to city leadership by March 1. McKendrick said as long as the budget is approved by March 17, the board will be in line with what the city needs.

"You’re not in any hurry. There is no urgency in getting this budget passed,” McKendrick told the school board.

Board chairwoman Julie Doyle said Payne has the information he needs to make his recommendation to City Council on March 10, and she would like to see the division approve its budget March 17.

Doyle said most numbers should by final on March 17.

"The only real variable out there is if City Council decides to do something different than the city manager recommends."

Once the school division’s budget is finalized the information will then be sent to City Council, which is responsible for appropriating about a third of the school system’s budget.

Also, during Tuesday’s meeting, officials briefly discussed the General Assembly’s enhanced retirement incentive plan, which failed in the Senate over the weekend and will not be included in the state’s budget.

Officials previously discussed the possible elimination of 31 teaching jobs and had hoped early retirement could help offset layoffs.

School board member Darin Gerdes asked if there was any incentive the school division could offer to those already eligible to retire. Officials said they might be able to defray some insurance costs for employees who retire, and would survey those able to retire to see if there would be any interest in such an offer.

"It’s not unreasonable to think some people are hesitating because of health care and insurance costs," board member Leslie Faircloth said.