Superintendents: School budget cuts will set us back

In Nelson County, schools superintendent Roger Collins had this to say about expected budget shortfalls his division faces for the next school year:

“The potential negative impact on students, staff and our community … could possibly set the school division back 15 to 20 years.”

Lynchburg City Schools Superintendent Paul McKendrick put his worries more simply: “My biggest fear? That you have a child not getting what they need.”

School superintendents in the Lynchburg area and across Virginia are bracing for what all of them say will be the most difficult budget season they can recall. With lawmakers in Richmond looking for ways to close an estimated $4 billion deficit in the upcoming budget, state support to education is expected to take a significant hit.

The Virginia Education Association has estimated more than 18,000 Virginia public school division jobs will be cut, based on the budget proposal former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine put forth before he left office last month. VEA Director of Government Relations Robley Jones said that another $700 million cut in K-12 education being discussed in the legislature likely would cost another 10,000 jobs — bringing the total estimate of possible reductions to about 28,000 jobs, a little less than 16 percent of Virginia’s current public school workforce.

While lawmakers still are far from deciding how budget issues will play out in this year’s General Assembly session, area school divisions cannot wait for specific numbers and already are deep into planning their own budgets for 2010-11. Most superintendents are expected to present their budget proposals to school boards this month.

Altogether, school divisions in Lynchburg and the counties of Appomattox, Amherst, Bedford, Campbell and Nelson anticipate a combined total budget gap of more than $25 million.

The potential budget shortfalls come due to a decline in state and local tax revenues, brought on by the economic recession. While federal stimulus money provided a temporary fix for large holes in last year’s budget, this year federal aid contributions will not be enough to allow area school divisions to operate as usual.

Area superintendents all are considering cutting staff positions. Teaching and supporting roles are on the table, as are a multitude of other cost-saving measures — everything from cutting travel to increasing class sizes.

Lynchburg took the unusual step of holding three public hearings last month to gain input before finalizing a budget proposal. Superintendents in Campbell and Bedford counties said they have had little public feedback and would appreciate hearing more.

“One of the things that happens in a cycle like this, when clearly we are in a reduction mindset, people are reluctant to make a suggestion,” said Douglas Schuch, superintendent of Bedford county schools, which anticipates a more than $5.8 million budget gap.

“They don’t want to put their neck out there. Unfortunately, that’s where the leadership is going to have to make tough decisions.”

At the public forums in Lynchburg last month, many people spoke against eliminating teacher positions or raising class sizes. Area school administrators share some of the same concerns.

McKendrick has said he wants to keep class sizes down, but some teacher cuts are unavoidable, given the size of the expected budget hole: more than $8 million and as much as $10 million.

In Campbell County, where an at least $6.8 million gap is projected, superintendent Robert Johnson is concerned about the effects of support staff reductions among other possible cuts.

By way of example, Johnson said he fears if he has to scale back teacher’s aides for kindergarten and first grade, education for those students could suffer.

“Without a teacher’s aide,” Johnson said, “(students) may not be able to get individualized attention.”

Bedford County School board members also have discussed the possibility of increasing class sizes in schools across the division. Officials have charted the number of staff positions that would be eliminated in a variety of case scenarios.

For example, at the elementary-school level, the division could cut five teaching positions by instituting a class size of 20, cut 28 positions, by instituting a class size of 22, and cut 46 positions with a class size of 24.

In a recent survey conducted by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, 91 percent of the responding superintendents said they are considering cutting teacher positions; 89 percent said that they are considering increasing student-to- teacher ratios.

Association Executive Director Alfred Butler isn’t surprised, figuring 80 to 84 percent of every school superintendent’s budget is personnel.

“To get that kind of money, you are not going to be able to just cut out field trips, supplies and roof repair,” he said.

Complicating matters in a tight budget year, superintendents say, are state mandates for education that cover everything from class sizes to graduation requirements. They worry that while state funding will decline, there will not be a corresponding ease in some mandates.

For example, school divisions are being required to institute a new economics and financial literacy course at the high school level, but not being provided with funds to buy textbooks or train teachers.

Both McKendrick and Johnson said they would support delaying the mandate. McKendrick has mentioned only one item he plans to defend at all costs in his budget — new funding for a lab support class for algebra students who he thinks might fail given the new high school algebra requirements being mandated by the legislature.

Amherst Superintendent Brian Ratliff also acknowledged the budget squeeze of new state mandates.

“Of course, we want to implement everything that is good for our students,” he said, “but obviously, during these economic times, it is reasonable to presuppose some delays in implementation.”

• Staff writers Scott Marshall, Justin Faulconer and Erin McGrath contributed.