Amherst school board to select budget priorities amid shortfall

The Amherst County school board members will hold a retreat next week to figure out how to contend with a projected $3.1 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal budget.

Among possible strategies, the school district could consider an early retirement program when board members establish budget priorities. No one is shying away from saying how tough the budget scenario looks at this point.

“It has become dire,” Superintendent Brian Ratliff told board members Thursday night.

About 67 positions would have been lost in the current budget without federal stimulus funding, which will not available for the 2010-11 fiscal budget.

The board met Thursday night at Central Elementary School in Amherst, one of two “on the road” board meetings this year. The other was at Monelison Middle School.

The board will hold the all-day retreat on Friday, Feb. 19, and Ratliff will present his proposed budget Feb. 25.

The board also will have two budget work sessions next month in between regular board meetings.

This fiscal year’s operating budget was $49,820,169, and 80 percent of it pays for the people who work in the system, from janitors to administrators — and classroom teachers.

Amherst County Public Schools has more than 400 teachers and instructional employees and nearly 4,700 students.

No specific plans or cuts have been mentioned so far. Ratliff told members Thursday night that numerous suggestions would be categorized so that staff members and the public are reassured that their ideas would be used in budget decisions when appropriate.

The Amherst Education Association, which represents teachers, has adopted a resolution listing budget priorities, which was sent to school board members and administrators, said the president, Sarah Thomas, a Monelison Middle School teacher.

The priorities include:

-- Budget cuts that have the least impact on students and all personnel who work with them.

-- Keeping current employees’ jobs a priority over the funding of any other budget category or item.

-- Support of strategies that protect employees who are within three years of retirement, and keeping benefits at current levels for all employees.

-- That budget cuts be temporary.

Amherst County Public Schools stands to lose less in state funding compared with other nearby school districts under changes recommended by Gov. Bob McDonnell this week.

The governor proposed updating the index that determines how much state money each school division receives.

If the index is updated, then Amherst County schools would lose $36,700, though that pales in comparison to the overall expected shortfall.

Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, who represents Amherst County in the General Assembly, on Thursday supported freezing the index to prevent local education funding cuts.

Legislators still are figuring out the state budget, which is likely to change frequently during the process, though not eliminating the shortfall that Amherst administrators expect.

In other business, Ratliff announced how students would make up lost snow days. As of Friday, only three days had been added to the end of the year because bad-weather days already were included in the schedule and other days are available. Spring break days will not be used, because families already have made vacation plans, he said.

Ratliff also announced that the GED testing rate in Central Virginia’s Monroe and Lynchburg testing centers is the third highest in the commonwealth, behind Virginia Beach and Chesterfield County.

The Adult Continuing Education program in this area includes Amherst, Nelson, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell counties and the city of Lynchburg, and residents from those communities who are seeking a GED credential test at the Lynchburg or Monroe testing centers, said Dr. Mark Angle, who oversees the education component.

From July 1 through last week, 648 people had been tested and 54 percent had earned their GED. The test has five subtests in reading, writing, math, science and social studies. Many struggle with math and writing, and they can retake any subtests that they fail, and so the pass rate of the 46 percent who didn’t pass all five will increase, Angle said.

Also during the meeting, the board recognized school counselors as part of National School Counselor Appreciation Week (Feb. 1-5).

The board also recognized Robin M. Wheeler, 29, a reading specialist at Temperance Elementary School, who achieved certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The laborious process must be completed in three years, said Dr. Mary Ann Mayhew, the school system’s director of Human Resources and staff development.

Board members, teachers and staff members arriving for the meeting were greeted by three members of the Central Elementary School Leadership Academy: Devonte Smith, 9, a fourth-grader in Kelly Knapp’s class; Natori Jones, 9, a fourth-grader in Cathy DiCenza’s class; and Dylan Campbell, 11, a fifth-grader in Natalia Corretjer’s class, and by the principal, Kathy Pierce.

The students distributed agendas, and the board members received thank-you certificates from the school’s faculty, staff and students that contained a quote from Aristotle: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” And board members received bowls of chocolates on the dais.