Supervisor scolds School Board. Boyd critical of spending; Wheeler calls attack 'ridiculous'

Albemarle’s School Board asked for money Thursday but ended up getting a scolding for what one county supervisor considers poor spending decisions.

The School Board invited the Board of Supervisors to a meeting Thursday pleading for permission to use $307,000 in lockbox funds — to offer senior employees stipends to retire early, ultimately saving the county money.

Supervisors handed the money over but not before Republican Supervisor Kenneth C. Boyd ridiculed school spending decisions.

It’s not good planning, Boyd told the School Board members, “to spend every dollar you can get your hands on.”

“You guys have to work on your expenses,” Boyd said.

School Board member Brian Wheeler called Boyd’s statement “ridiculous.”

“We told you that this was what was going to happen,” Wheeler said, arguing that supervisors’ failure to adequately fund schools is forcing the School Board to have a shallow rainy day fund and use one-time funds for recurring expenses.

School Board member Steve Koleszar added that the school division has made deeper cuts in its fiscal 2011 spending plan than the Board of Supervisors did.

Tension has mounted between School Board members and supervisors ever since supervisors set a goal in January to lower real-estate taxes — and the heat has further risen since the Board of Supervisors carried out a mission to lower taxes in April. School Board members have said the local funding reduction not only forces the school division to make painful cuts but also has prompted leaders to make imprudent spending decisions.

The Board of Supervisors set a 2010 real-estate tax rate of 74.2 cents, which is the same rate as 2009. Real-estate taxes will be lowered by about $90 for the average property owner because assessments were down on the whole.

Among Boyd’s complaints about the school division’s spending decisions, he objects to its use of about $3.4 million. School leaders plan to initially set that money aside in fiscal 2011 and dip into it if the economy worsens and revenue drops lower than the county has estimated.

If the money isn’t needed to cover budget holes, the school division plans to spend it late next school year for one-time expenses not included in the School Board’s original budget request — such as $1 million for technology and $1.2 for school bus replacements.

School division heads say they don’t want to use the $3.4 million in state funds for recurring expenses, such as teacher salaries, because the state is presenting the money as one-time funding. State legislators have indicated that those funds will not be given to localities in fiscal 2012.

Boyd, a former School Board member, said the School Board has the luxury of focusing strictly on education, while supervisors have to balance school needs with other needs within local government, all while trying to keep taxes low for those struggling to weather the harsh economy.

School Board member Eric Strucko said the services that would be funded with the $3.4 million are needed.

In a worst-case scenario, however, school administrators say those expenditures could be axed. The school division is planning to make about $6 million in spending cuts for fiscal 2011. Among the cuts are elimination of 40 positions, including 22 teaching posts.

Boyd said in an interview after Thursday’s meeting that he has doubts about the urgency of spending more money for things such as technology, adding that he’s not convinced “kindergartners” need “iPods.”

He said that the school division should consider putting some of the $3.4 million aside for future years if it’s not essential that it’s put into use in fiscal 2011. However, he said that he has little faith that the school division would be able to avoid the temptation of spending the money.

“I think the School Board is trying to couch this as a revenue problem and it’s the Board of Supervisors’ fault,” Boyd said.

Later in the School Board’s meeting, members discussed technology used by the school division and said they wished they had invited supervisors to stay for that session.

“When they see a million dollars for technology, I don’t think they understand the full ramifications,” School Board member Pamela Moynihan said.

The technology discussed at the meeting included a program that would allow parents to access their children’s academic performance records and analyze performance trends.

School leaders said they need to do a better job of demonstrating to supervisors technological devices being used in the school division. School Board Chairman Ronnie Price Sr. said he hopes to spend a couple of hours at a joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors in a few months to demonstrate use of technology in the school division.