The Prince William County School Board unanimously consented to direct Superintendent of Schools Steven L. Walts to come up with several alternative FY13 budget plans that could include a pay increase for county educators.
The School Division must raise approximately $30 million to fund step increases and cost of living adjustments (COLA) for county educators.
This directive came after Chairman At-Large Milton C. "Milt" Johns asked Walts what it would take to revise the budget to include raises.
While most Board members offered support for the advertised county tax rate of $1.215 per $100 of assessed property value, some cautioned that such a revision of the budget would come at the expense of personnel and programs.
Gainesville District Board representative Alyson A. Satterwhite said, "We don't want to see anyone's job cut; We don't want to see that happen."
Although the Board of County Supervisors has given the School Board revenue guidance, Gov. Bob McDonnell has yet to pass a budget to contribute the Commonwealth's share to the FY13 school division budget.
Brentsville District representative Gilbert A. "Gil" Trenum, Jr. said, "The state should get to work to pass the budget. We have no budget as of yet."
However, Trenum urged caution to his colleagues.
"Right now we are talking about numbers, big numbers that no one can get their head around what these numbers really mean," he said. "There are no sacred cows...there are no sacred people. When you're in a budget where there are 84 percent people costs, we're talking at some level about positions."
The current FY13 budget proposal secures School Division jobs and programs, without any cuts.
In the their comments, most Board members referred to a suggestion by Walts that another solution would be to include a uniform increase, and not step or COLA raises.
"We must work in the best interest of our children; in the end the children are our ultimate clients," Johns said.
John's request for budget alternatives and the subsequent discussion came after 13 people representing teachers, parents and students spoke on behalf of pay increases.
Bristow resident and Battlefield High School English teacher Brandie Provenzano urged the School Board to look at all budget items to find money, including eliminating the scoring costs associated with the mandatory junior research paper, a requirement for graduation.
"Prince William County Schools currently spends $7 for every junior in the county to have their 11th grade research papers scored by Measurement, Inc, a company in North Carolina, who hires recent college graduates to grade our students' research papers," she said. "Is it really necessary or fiscally responsible to continue funding such a project when teachers already do this everyday?"
In response, during the Board's comment time, Johns warned that there would have to be more substantial cuts to fund a raise for teachers.
"If we are talking $30-32 million, there are only so many places in our budget that we can find that kind of money..the grading of English papers is about $45,000. Even if we cut out $45,000, we haven't even made a ripple towards a raise," Johns said.
Occoquan District representative Grant Lattin concurred with Johns and added, "The only way to do this is to cut programs; there is no other alternative."
Vice Chairman Lisa A. Bell explained that throughout the budget process conversations about funding raises have been ongoing, but she is optimistic that any cuts can be eventually restored
"It comes downs to programs. Programs in a tight budget situation that can be eliminated can always be added in additional years," she said.
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