The Williamsburg-James City County School Board on Tuesday approved its budget for next year, but not before adding language to reiterate its support for a fourth middle school.
James City County and the City of Williamsburg provided the schools’ full request of almost $80.1 million for its operating budget, but supplied about $3.8 million of a requested $23.95 million for its capital improvements plan, which covers high-dollar projects.
The board on Tuesday reviewed its allotted funding and the projects left uncovered, which include:
- Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School refurbishment; $1,581,000
- James River Elementary School refurbishment; $1,637,000
- James River Elemenatary School roof replacement; $641,000
- Berkeley Middle School baseball field refurbishment; $82,000
- Technology refreshment; $729,000
- Bus replacements; $440,000
- New central office; $11,750,000
The schools did receive funding for a Jamestown High School refurbishment project and new roof at a cost of $3.3 million. The about $500,000 balance in what was received from the city and county was grouped under the classroom expansion heading for a total of nearly $5 million.
Before voting on the budget, board member Joe Fuentes (Powhatan) asked to split the operating and CIP portions. The operating portion, which totals about $121.5 million, seamlessly passed 7-0. The CIP, however, was tweaked before its passage.
The school board added some new wording to its own CIP in response to the changes the county made before adopting its budget May 14.
The county supervisors opted to allocate $28.5 million toward classroom expansions over two years, rather than for a fourth middle school. While the language was included in the budget, the county would have to contract a debt to cover the cost.
“The classrooms may be at James Blair or may be sited somewhere else, but an evaluation of alternatives is not yet complete. The final funding allocation may change, depending on the site, a final estimate of the total costs and what is determined to be the County’s share of the total costs,” James City wrote in its budget.
School Board Vice Chair Jim Kelly (Jamestown) on Tuesday proposed a new disclaimer for the schools’ CIP, reading from a prepared document he brought to the meeting.
“The meaning of this new language is unclear and, therefore, is open to varied interpretations,” Kelly read. “To the extent this new language can be interpreted to disallow the construction of a fourth middle school, the school board disagrees and maintains that a fourth middle school is necessary and in the long-term best interests of student learning.”
Additionally, Kelly proposed language about the central office, which was not included in James City County’s budget.
“The decision where to house the central office will be made taking into consideration the best interests of the school division, and our taxpayers, and after the board makes a decision on the new middle school,” Kelly read.
Kelly said he was not saying the fourth middle school is the only route to follow, but that he has not yet seen a viable option that would save taxpayer money.
School officials – and a Middle School Committee – worked for more than a year to come to the conclusion a fourth middle school would be the best route to accommodate a projected student population increase. Rather than funding the option the schools say is best, James City is seeking other options for school accommodations.
“I’ve never been in a position like this, so for me, this is uncharted territory,” said James Nickols (Stonehouse) before casting his vote on the CIP. “I’m not happy with this; it’s unsatisfactory.”
All the board members stressed the value of the work that had been done to determine the need for a fourth middle school. Chairwoman Ruth Larson said all information about the process of researching options has been made public and is still listed on the school division’s website.
With Kelly’s changes in place, the other six board members agreed the new language was necessary, and voted 7-0 to pass the amended CIP.
New Pay Scale, Raises
Included in the operating budget was funding for a 1 percent pay raise for employees, and a 3.42 percent pay increase to offset an increase in state-mandated employee contributions to the Virginia Retirement System, which could decrease take-home pay.
A shift in the division’s pay scale – to boost starting salaries to more than $40,000 – is aimed to make Williamsburg-James City County more competitive with neighboring school divisions.
Additionally, the step pay system for employees was reconfigured:
- Step 1 was increased by 3 percent from $39,127 to $40,301
- Step 2 was increased by 3.5 percent from $40,106 to $40,496
- Employees at all higher steps will move up one step for a 2.5 percent increase, and higher steps’ pay was increased by 1.92 percent, to provide a total 4.42 percent increase. Step 3 increases from $41,108 to $41,879. Step 4 increases from $42,136 to $42,925.
- An additional Step 24 was added
For educational support and administrative staff, pay grades were increased 4.42 percent.
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