Budget issues still on school board's plate
By Matt Pelkey
The Rappahannock County School Board was met with silence during the public comment portion of its Tuesday session.The reprieve did not last long, however, as board members soon dug back into the budget discussions that have dominated meetings in recent months.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Chappell presented a memo from Amy Silver O'Leary, the director of grants and partnerships with the Headwaters Foundation. O'Leary helped craft answers to budget-related questions posed by school board members. Below are excerpts in the question-and-answer format of the memo:
Question: Are the Rappahannock County Public Schools overstaffed?
Answer: "The efficiency review essentially said that our schools were efficient. Compared with its 'peer group' of school divisions with similar numbers of students, RCPS had below average numbers of staff... per student."
Question: How do Rappahannock County's tax rates compare with those of its neighbors and the state?
Answer: "Rappahannock's property taxes are probably around average for the six contiguous counties in our region, which are themselves lower than average for the state. Virginia property taxes overall are at either the very middle or in the bottom third of the country, depending on how you look at it."
Question: How much of an impact on the average Rappahannock property owner's tax bill could the drop in state revenue cause?
Answer: "...if the county loses $400,000 in state revenue for FY09 (I don't think we know the exact figures yet), it would be more than made up, based on data provided to me by John McCarthy, with a $.03 increase in the property tax rate. By my calculations, that would mean that someone who owns a property assessed at $500,000, who now pays $2,950 in property taxes, would pay $150.00 more, or $3,100."
Question: If land use were revoked, how much extra revenue would be raised?
Answer: "According to John McCarthy, revoking land use does not increase revenue, it just changes who pays."
Question: How much are rising taxes the result of a rising RCPS budget?
Answer: "While until this year the school budget increased gradually for a number of years, the RCPS share of local revenue has steadily decreased, from a high of over 65% in FY 2004 to under 53% for FY 08. That's because both the county's revenue and the county's other expenditures have risen faster than the RCPS budget."
Jackson District representative Wesley Mills said he hoped that the information could help at the board of supervisors' April 25 public hearing on the proposed education budget.
Board approves retirement plan
At its meeting the school board also approved a pilot program that would give retired school staff an opportunity to receive free medical coverage.
Currently the schools pay 50 percent of insurance costs for retired staff until the age of 65, Superintendent Chappell said after the meeting. The pilot program would allow eligible retired staff to receive fully funded coverage if they work 28 days a year in the school system, for instance, as substitute teachers.
Chappell noted that other school districts have enacted similar programs.
"We think it's the right thing; we hope it's the right thing," he said.
He said that as a pilot program the schools could work out any kinks before pursuing it on a more permanent basis.
Board member Wesley Mills said the program would not put a financial burden on the schools.
Food services contracting pushed back
Board members decided not to pursue a contract with an outside food services provider this budget session. The board will consider it for next June.
"I found out that's far more complicated than I ever dreamed," said Superintendent Chappell, who looked into a contract with a private food services company.
Chappell said at past board meetings that the company would keep most of the food staff currently on board at Rappahannock schools.
At the board's meeting this past Tuesday, Chappell said he ran into trouble working with the state on the prospective contract.
"I just think there's a lot of merit in not rushing," said board member Wesley Mills.
Board will allow Martin Luther King Day for make-up use
The school board voted to allow Martin Luther King Day to be used to make up days missed because of bad weather.
In past years the school board has set aside Martin Luther King Day as a fixed holiday. Other holidays were listed as acceptable for make-up days.
Superintendent Chappell said the day was protected at the request of members of the public.
The board also decided to allow Presidents' Day for make-up use.
At the board's last meeting, Superintendent Chappell relayed a recommendation from the school division leadership team -- which consists of parents, teachers and administrators from Rappahannock schools -- that the board allow Martin Luther King Day to be used as a make-up day every other year, alternating with Presidents' Day.
The board did not follow that recommendation and instead allows both days for make-up use.
E-mail the reporter at mpelkey@timespapers.com