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In Brief . . .
Bath County Board of Supervisors and School Board
¦ No action was taken by Bath supervisors or school board members during the joint work session Monday. The boards addressed a number of issues related to the budget for the coming year.
¦ The school board request $150,000 in the Capital Improvement Plan for bleachers at Bath County High School and a facility study. Supervisor Richard Byrd said he would support $100,000 for bleachers but would not support $150,000 for a study. Superintendent Dr. David Smith said $100,000 of the requested money was for bleachers. The additional bleachers would raise the number of seats at the stadium to the 2000 required by the Virginia High School League, and also address other safety and access concerns. Even with the new bleachers, Smith said BCHS would not have enough parking or bathroom facilities to meet VHSL specifications to host regional and state football games. "With seating in place, parking is going to be an issue."
¦ Supervisors questioned the idea of spending money to replace equipment at Mertz. Supervisor Carol Hardbarger said, "I would be concerned about replacing equipment without some employment data." Hardbarger questioned the school board and Smith about having an up-to-date employment survey. Smith said he didn't know when the survey was done last, but said it was something that needs to be done. "Programs have to be a reflection of opportunity," Smith said.
¦ Smith said recreation director Mark Nelson would allow the BCHS softball team to play games on the recreation field in Ashwood. This would eliminate a potentially dangerous situation that has existed when both a softball and baseball game take place at the same time.
¦ The supervisors questioned Smith about the use of the distance-learning center. Smith said the center had not gotten widespread use. The Homestead is using the center for training programs and some BCHS students use the center for dual enrollment programs with Dabney S. Lancaster Community College. The center is available for use by the community.
¦ The two boards discussed establishing a "contingency fund." The fund would be administered under supervisors as required by state law, but would allow the school system to deposit any money left at the end of the budget year into the account for future capital needs. Currently the school system must spend all budgeted monies by the end of the fiscal year or the money reverts to the county's general fund. In previous years there has been some controversy over end of year surpluses and how the school system spent the money rather than returning it to the county.
¦ The school board will hold the first public hearing on the proposed budget, Tuesday March 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the school administration building in Warm Springs.
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