York County Administrator James McReynolds does not anticipate asking for a tax rate increase for the next budget.
McReynolds made the prediction during a joint work session between the York County Board of Supervisors and the School Board on Tuesday, when the two boards gathered to receive preliminary budget information. The two boards are now starting work on their budgets for fiscal year 2015, which runs from July 1 through June of next year.
The county uses taxes generated from real estate as one of its primary methods of raising revenue. Much of the money raised goes to costs associated with funding schools, the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office and the York County Division of Fire and Life Safety. The county gave $57.8 million to the school division in fiscal year 2014, representing its single largest expenditure.
He said the county is expecting overall growth of 1.5 to 2 percent, with a moderate increase in revenue generated from real estate taxes from new construction and a slight increase in revenue from meals and lodging. He said he also expects some increase in personal property tax, while revenues from the state are expected to remain level.
McReynolds is expected to give a more detailed presentation on his proposed budget March 18.
He also spoke briefly about the cost of a new elementary school. That project is included in the school board’s capital improvements program — a guiding document they use to plan for infrastructure costs — and would cost $23 million, according to preliminary figures. Funding the school by borrowing the money would result in a real estate tax rate increase of 2 to 3 cents beginning in 2017. The $23 million figure does not include operating costs.
York County School Division Superintendant Eric Williams said even without the residential development at the Marquis at Williamsburg, where the Board of Supervisors voted to allow 650 new residential units, there are a “substantial number” of housing units either in active or planned development in the attendance zones for Magruder and Yorktown elementary schools. The new elementary school would have the capacity for 500 students, with room to bump that number to 700.
Williams led the two boards through a look at a series of issues facing the school division, as well as the current budget outlook for the next fiscal year. He characterized the budget outlook as “very preliminary” and said he will release his proposed budget next week.
He said overall student performance is strong. The school division did not meet federal objectives for graduation rates for economically disadvantaged students and those with disabilities. He said 10 schools in the division did not meet all federal academic objectives, and two schools — Bruton High School and York River Academy — were accredited with warning in mathematics.
A school receives that accreditation if pass rates are below the achievement levels required for full accreditation. Those schools are required to adopt instructional programs effective in raising achievement.
Williams said the county is spending significantly fewer dollars per pupil than eight local school divisions used as comparators. For example, York County spends $9,637 per student while Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools spend $11,123.
“I’m trying to understand the downside of what you’re saying,” said Supervisor Thomas Shepperd. He said the fact that student performance is strong while per pupil expenditures are lower than the compared districts is “an indication you guys are doing a really bang-up job in the school system.”
Williams replied his division is “cost efficient” and “cost effective,” saying “when we come and say we have some significant financial needs, we have the credibility of saying that as a division that is spending the least per student.”
He then outlined about $1.5 million in anticipated reductions from attrition, reduced electricity bills and paying off debt related to early retirement. He said health insurance costs, something which have been hugely problematic for the division in the last two years, are excepted to decrease this year.
Still, a $2.9 million budget gap remains. The division must deal with rising student enrollment and requirements from the state and federal governments, which those governments do not fund. Williams anticipates about 190 new students, which creates the need for eight more teachers — a $408,000 cost. The division is also facing about $2 million in costs related to the Virginia Retirement System.
The division must also fund 1.5 new teachers and 1.5 new paraeducators for special needs students to meet requirements.
“We are not overstaffed at all in terms of special education staffing,” Williams said.
He also wants to make salaries more competitive. He said the teacher pay plan ranks in the middle third of the comparator market but that parts of it are in the bottom third, such as the maximum point on the pay plan for teachers with a bachelor’s degree. Williams currently has $2.9 million in place as the cost of making the salaries more competitive, but that number is subject to change following review and discussion of recommendation from a private firm hired to analyze the division’s payscale. That firm recommended the division implement a salary scale with a sharp increase in pay for teachers who have been on the job for more than nine years.
Williams also wants to add 2.5 counselors to bring the division up to 24. Currently, the division has 338 students per counselor, something he wants to see change to 301 students per counselor.
Supervisor Don Wiggins asked “Just what is it these counselors do?”
Williams said the counselors work with students to plan for college as well as on personal and social development. The counselor at Bethel Manor Elementary School, for example, works with a high number of children whose parents are deployed in the military.
He wants to restore $300,000 in textbook funding to maintain a 13-year textbook replacement plan.
“Last time we bought reading books for kindergarten students was when current college freshmen were in kindergarten,” Williams said. “What we’re on now is not sustainable.”
He said textbooks now come with electronic access to materials, which expires after seven years.
Supervisor Walt Zaremba asked Williams where the division was on moving away from hard copies of textbooks and transitioning to digital copies.
Williams said there is not enough funding to pay for digital textbooks, as the division would need to be on a seven-year replacement cycle, which would drive up the cost. Zaremba asked if the division had at all started moving in that direction, to which Williams said the division has made “extensive strides.”
“In order to make additional strides, one thing is needed and that’s more money,” Williams said. “We’re not in a position to devote the additional funds. We’ve made strides in our technology infrastructure and teacher ability to use technology resources. So if we get the money, we’d be able to make the transition.”
He then asked for $765,000 in additional funding for technology infrastructure. He said the money is “not about bells and whistles” but about keeping the lights turned on. The division is on a “relatively long” replacement cycle for computers already — seven to nine years compared to three years in many school districts — and this money would be used to cover costs related to storage networks and servers.
