Teacher raises reduced By Amanda Isley • Staff writer
WARM SPRINGS - Raises for school employees in Bath County were cut nearly in half last week when a larger than expected expense was calculated on the costs of the Virginia Retirement System.
The Bath school board had created its proposed budget and received category appropriations from supervisors, but then learned the VRS increase would go up $74,731.
The increase primarily affected instruction, further tightening the schools' budget by $72,082.
The school board had to absorb the rate increase while finding the means to provide three positions for special education aides. While it had prepared for the VRS rate hike, the increase exceeded what the school board had projected.
The board shaved dollars and cents off the budget last Wednesday until the schools could meet staffing needs without having to ask for more money from county supervisors.
The revised budget was approved with a 4-1 vote; school board member Jake Cleek opposed.
To make ends meet, the board cut $6,600 out of health insurance contingency money, $5,000 out of music textbooks, $3,500 from the Valley Elementary School library, $3,500 out of Standards of Learning teacher training, $1,500 from fees and memberships, and $1,542 from teacher recruitment expenses.
Contingency money is kept in the budget as backup insurance money in case new employees eligible for benefits are hired during the year, explained school superintendent David Smith.
The school board agreed to hire one aide, at step one, or entry level, saving another $1,500, so it could hire a third special education aide.
Supervisors had categorically approved the school budget in April, and appropriated $7,123,974 of the requested $7,372,053 for instruction.
Back in the hands of school board members, the budget had to be revised to accommodate the appropriations. Technology director Paul Lancaster and other administrators created a list of proposed cuts for the school board to balance the budget. One of those included reducing the 3 percent raise for all school employees to the state increase of 1.75 percent, which the board approved.
A suggestion to move an existing aide to meet staffing needs and hiring two rather than three new employees met with criticism and reluctance from school board members. The proposal came on the heels of a prior recommendation to move one English teacher from Millboro Elementary School to Bath County High School.
MES principal Martha Reish said she thought she could manage without the English teacher, and also would likely manage without the additional aide, although it would continue to be a need. Originally one of the three aides was meant to serve Valley Elementary School and two were to work at MES.
Despite Reish's assurances, school board chair Kaye May said she was not in favor of cutting needs from the budget. "If circumstances haven't changed, we need to get three aides," she said.
Lancaster said the suggested cuts were carefully considered, but all were largely undesirable. "It's going to hurt somewhere, we're just trying to get to a zero balance," he said. He pointed out some cuts were influenced by enrollment. Because MES has the lowest enrollment of the three schools, it's often targeted for staffing cuts or consolidation.
"Regardless of enrollment, I don't think you can hit Millboro that hard," said May. She noted supervisors appropriated instruction dollars with the expectation staffing needs would be addressed. If only two aides were hired, and it didn't adequately address those needs and the schools would have little choice but to operate short-staffed, she said. "If this doesn't work, asking for more money for an aide is not an option," she added.
School board members discussed options ranging from cutting the governor's school program altogether, to brainstorming ways to generate more revenue.
Lancaster said increasing fees and similar proposals would not solve the budget crisis at hand, since those fees would not be collected until next school year.
School board member Barbara Waldeck was strongly in favor of continuing the governor's school program, and urged the board to search for other possible reductions.
Both Smith and director of instruction and personnel Sue Hirsh agreed, and felt it would be wise to hire a third aide. "As we've made cuts over the years, all of our staffing has become very, very tight," said Smith.
Hirsh also noted families with special needs children might move to Bath during the year, making the extra aide a necessity. "More students could sign on that we know nothing about today," she said.
Cleek opposed the budget changes because of the reduction in raises for all school employees. He said 1.75 percent was not enough against the rising cost of living.
The school board approved all proposed cuts to the administration category, and agreed to move VES expenses for propane furnaces and a handicapped remote unlocking door out of the operations and maintenance and into the nonrecurring safety category.
In food services, the retirement of a VES cafeteria worker will allow the schools to hire a part-time worker for BCHS and another for VES, essentially moving the half-time position reduction from one school to another. Cafeteria manager Lumina Shifflett said the plan should solve staffing issues.
Since the beginning of the school year, BCHS cafeteria staff have expressed a need for part-time help that had been eliminated in last year's round of budget cuts. Despite Shifflett's efforts to relieve some pressure felt by existing staff, she said BCHS definitely needed a half-time worker for next year.
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