School Board Chair Warns of Difficult Budget Challenges

Fortunately, we start from the common desire to continue providing a World-Class Education for all our students, and that does not necessarily require extra spending. Still, public support is critical to the process, and requires a shared understanding of the complex issues and facts involved. Under a longstanding agreement with the Board of County Supervisors, the Superintendent’s budget proposal (which forms the basis for School Board deliberations) includes a pre-determined 56.75 percent of county general fund revenue. But remember, our student enrollment increases dramatically every year. There is no connection in the revenue sharing agreement between increased costs to educate more students and the amount of revenue that comes from the county to the schools. This does not mean the county’s actual school spending has gone down. To be clear, total county funding for schools has increased in recent years. However, it has not kept pace with the amounts identified in our various five-year plans for essential student services. Because tax rates change every year, we effectively wind up with a series of one-year plans that may or may not reflect growth in enrollment and student needs. When adjusted for inflation, the value of the county’s contribution to the schools has diminished by $850 per pupil since 2009. Now, with taxpayers hurting, there is talk of alternative county tax rate proposals for the years ahead. It is important to understand that scenarios under consideration could alter anticipated school funding, in one case by adding a modest $30 million over five years, or in others by slashing projected funds in the approved five-year plan by as much as $130 million. We face further challenges on federal and state funding fronts. Much of the federal money that helped support important programs through recent lean times has now dried up. A staggering federal deficit makes it unrealistic to expect federal funds to make up for future budget shortfalls. Of greater concern, our budget is likely to suffer from the potential loss of millions in state funding that the School Board helped to avoid through its lobbying efforts last year; now some of those costly proposals have been resurrected. State funding per pupil in Prince William County is already below the level we received in 2009; when adjusted for inflation, it has declined more than $540. Meanwhile, despite the efforts of our local legislative delegation, the state budget still does not provide the necessary funding for school divisions to cover the growing costs of meeting educational needs in Virginia. In other words, the state imposes requirements on local school divisions, but does not provide adequate funding to fully meet those requirements. Ultimately, only public support can guarantee a fair return of tax revenue from Richmond to Prince William County. We must assure that our School Division ends up with more from state funds rather than less. The bottom line is that combined per-pupil county and state funding is down substantially since 2009, while our enrollment is up by approximately 10,000 students. The School Board is especially proud of the focus and efficiencies that allow PWCS to accomplish more with less, but that ability is now being stretched to the limit. Our per-pupil spending for the 2011-12 school year was $9,852, compared with $11,014 for Loudoun County, and $12,820 in Fairfax. Many of our parents desire that PWCS provide an instructional program that is comparable to the one in Fairfax County. To fund our students at the same level Fairfax County did, would require PWCS to receive nearly $250 million more in revenue than we did last year. That may help you understand why our $865.9 million operating budget for 2012-13 barely allowed preservation of key educational programs and services like full-day kindergarten, specialty programs, and sports, while avoiding layoffs, and still providing for employee raises. The seemingly simple solution to repeating that success in the face of lower per-pupil funding is to just cut expenses. But the challenge to the School Board is far tougher than it appears. Most of the PWCS budget is mandated. Whether for special education, required transportation, or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs, numerous expenses are tied directly to federal requirements or to meeting Virginia Standards of Quality. Additionally, significant school funding comes with strings attached, so cutting programs or activities that may appear discretionary often costs more than it saves. Unavoidable new expenses come with housing and transporting a student population that grows by an average of 2,000 per year. Though we are working hard to reduce energy use, for example, the impact of rising fuel costs can be unavoidable. Clearly, only a limited portion of our budget goes to so-called “discretionary” expenses; yet even this flexibility is relative at best. Every year, we hear demands from many individuals to cut what they view as “bloated” central office administration. In truth, if we reduced all Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center employees not required by federal and state programs and grants by 10 percent, we would save $1.7 million. This would require the layoff of highly specialized employees whose work directly supports our teachers, our students, and the efficient operation of the entire School Division. Such a reduction would have an adverse effect on our ability to pay employees on time, keep critical computer systems running, manage Division expenses, maintain school facilities and safety, and meet state-required curriculum needs; all in exchange for a relatively small savings. Putting this into context, salary raises cost approximately $7 million for every one percent increase and a class size reduction of only one student on average per classroom Divisionwide costs $15 million. These amounts would be difficult to find in administrative expenses that previously equaled only two-thirds of the national average before they were cut for several consecutive years. Consequently, parents need to be prepared for cuts that we may be forced to make. We are often asked about the value of expenditures for PWCS specialty programs and associated transportation, but many would quickly reply that they give PWCS students unique opportunities to grow, explore, and excel. Others may question the need for full-day kindergarten, sports, and arts programs. However, items deemed by some as expensive “extras” are indispensible to others. Each community member has a different view of what makes the biggest difference for our students as well as to our ability to deliver the education they deserve. Spending is not what makes PWCS World-Class; still, we must spend wisely to afford the programs and people that do. We face difficult cuts at a time when revenue is not keeping pace with the growth of the school division and related costs. At our recent meeting, the School Board established protecting current employee jobs and providing staff pay raises as top budget priorities. And we want desperately to reduce class sizes and maintain our capital improvement plans. We are proud of having avoided layoffs through the worst of the fiscal crisis and seek to avoid the costly mistake of losing valuable staff for short-term savings. The School Board and administration are striving for creative solutions. As we do, please remind elected officials that you and our community understand the value of education and what it takes to provide it. Please communicate your support. The complex task ahead is to determine what we want and what we can afford. As that happens, please keep in mind that we are spending taxpayer money on the future of our children, our work force, and our community itself. MILTON C. JOHNS Chairman, At-large Prince William County School Board