City, county edge closer to school funds deal

After several months of fighting, with both Charlottesville and Albemarle officials claiming rightful ownership of about $2.6 million in education funds, the two sides might be close to agreeing on a peace treaty of sorts.

Albemarle and Charlottesville officials have been having meetings out of public view to discuss ways to share services, improve efficiencies and save money. At a closed meeting Wednesday, officials discussed a decades-old revenue-sharing agreement and the dispute over the $2.6 million, with some suggesting using the money for a joint project.

“I’d much rather see the money used for county kids,” said Albemarle School Board Chairman Ronnie Price Sr. “But I guess by putting some money in some joint something-or-another, it guarantees at least there’s going to be [collaborative use of the money].”

During the 2010 General Assembly session, Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, unsuccessfully proposed an amendment to count more than $18 million Albemarle gives Charlottesville under the revenue-sharing agreement toward the city’s wealth instead of the county’s.

Because the state provides more education funding to poorer localities, the amendment would have meant Albemarle would have received more than $2.5 million in additional money, and Charlottesville would have lost that money.

With Bell likely to propose the amendment again in 2011 — if requested to do so by the county — city and county officials discussed Wednesday the possibility of instead using all or some of that money for a joint project that would benefit both city and county schools.

What exactly that joint service might be has yet to be determined. The chairs and vice chairs of both school boards, and likely other officials from both localities, plan to meet again within the next several weeks, though a date has not been determined. That meeting will also be behind closed doors and will not be advertised publicly, as no more than two members of each board will attend.

“We’re just all putting our thinking caps on, and we’re going to do the best we can to resolve it,” Charlottesville School Board Chairwoman Leah Puryear said. “I’m optimistic. There may be some people that are cautiously optimistic, but I’m optimistic.”

Albemarle School Board Vice Chairman Eric Strucko said the county appears willing to ask Bell not to propose the amendment, if the two localities can agree on a way to use the approximately $2.6 million jointly.

Strucko said he considered the meeting “constructive,” adding that the two sides seemed poised to work together for a solution, instead of butting heads.

Exactly how far along a joint-use agreement would have to be for the county to not fight for the money in the General Assembly is still up in the air.

“I think there’s urgency to prove that we are diligently moving forward,” Puryear said. “I don’t think in 45 days you’re going to come up with all of the T’s crossed and all of the I’s dotted, but I think if both sides see that we are moving toward that goal it will help.”

Albemarle Supervisor Kenneth C. Boyd has a different view.

“Personally, I would like to see a concrete agreement,” he said. “And the reason for that is that I’ve been very discouraged on what’s been going on with the Meadowcreek Parkway and the 50-year water plan, where we had an agreement with the city, and both of those are now stagnant projects.”

“And that doesn’t leave me with a lot of faith that anything other than a concrete agreement is really going to get us anywhere.”

Price, who said that perhaps a city-county High Tech High could be the solution, said that county officials might not need to have the city signed into a final contract, though he would want to see a specific proposal and both parties “nodding” their heads before considering backing away from the Bell amendment.

Price said that the city considering using the money for a city-county cause signals to him that the city must have some concern that Bell’s amendment would pass in the General Assembly.

“Because why would they be cutting a deal?” Price said.

But agreeing to share the money, as a compromise, means both school divisions would risk ending up with less money, but it also ensures that neither of the parties would end up with no share of the disputed money.

Deciding to pursue the Bell amendment would also increase the risk of bad blood between the two localities, Price said.

On the other hand, Price noted, if the county signs an agreement that has it sharing the money with Charlottesville, the county could be stuck in what it later considers a bad deal, if the General Assembly ever were to adjust the school funding formula to account for localities’ revenue-sharing agreements.

“When you talk about risks, that’s part of your risk,” Price said.

How much of the approximately $2.6 million should be shared has not been pinned down.

City Council member Kristen Szakos said she doesn’t think “that’s something that we reached any particular conclusion on in the meeting.”

But Boyd said he’s looking for the city “to put something on the table.”

“I’m not looking for some kind of joint effort where we share costs because that just ends up costing the county more money,” Boyd said. “It all depends on what the city puts on the table and what they’re willing to negotiate. Does that have to be the full $2.6 million? Make me an offer.”

Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris would not elaborate on the discussions of the meeting, saying that officials had agreed to keep the discussions largely among government officials until representatives from both sides could meet again and then report back to their governmental bodies.