The Albemarle County School Board decided Thursday not to cut two elementary school principal positions and family support workers previously slated to be eliminated.
The board had previously proposed a single full-time principal be split between Yancey and Scottsville elementary schools and a second principal be split between Red Hill and Murray elementary schools.
School Board members have been trying to close a nearly $700,000 budget shortfall for fiscal 2011 — on the heels of cutting $6.1 million — and placed on the table
Thursday the possibility of plugging the hole with some one-time state funds.
The school division has about $3.4 million in one-time state funds. School Board members had been reluctant to use one-time funds for recurring expenses but said Thursday that they might be left with no other option, citing lack of funding from county supervisors.
“The only thing the Board of Supervisors has told us is, ‘You have money you won’t use. Use that money,’” School Board Chairman Ronnie Price Sr. said.
Tension has risen between the School Board and Board of Supervisors, with school officials asking for more money from supervisors — arguing they’ve made deep education cuts and can’t afford to cut deeper. Some supervisors, however, have urged the School Board to use one-time funds for recurring expenses, such as personnel.
The Board of Supervisors called for a joint meeting with the School Board sometime in the next few weeks. However, School Board members agreed Thursday to instead invite the Board of Supervisors to a School Board meeting next week, arguing that there are vital financial questions looming.
School Board member Eric Strucko said the school division is facing a “financial crisis” and cannot wait until May to know how much money the school division will have for fiscal 2011.
The Board of Supervisors has about $800,000 in reserves, but it’s unclear how much — if any — of that money the schools will get.
The School Board has proposed a $145.2 million budget that falls nearly $700,000 short of funding. Separate from that request is about $3.4 million in one-time money that the school division had planned to use for one-time expenses, such as school buses or technology, and dip into those funds if revenue declines below projections next fiscal year.
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