With more than $3.8 million in excess funds available from the 2014 budget, Williamsburg-James City County Schools is asking to allocate the majority to transportation and technology needs.
The spending plan, which would return nearly $100,000 to the City of Williamsburg and more than $800,000 to James City County, will go before Williamsburg’s City Council on Thursday.
James City County’s Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the plan Tuesday.
Under a year-end funds spending plan approved by the WJCC School Board in August, the city could see $92,685 in WJCC excess funds returned to city coffers, while the county’s return would top $878,000.
As part of the school contract between Williamsburg and James City County, any fund balance left at the end of the fiscal year becomes part of the city and county’s appropriation for the next year unless the city and county approve a spending plan submitted by the district.
For fiscal year 2014, which ended June 30, the district had a combination of excess revenue and underspending totaling $3,841,537. The city’s share of the district’s local funding was 9.54 percent. As such, $366,483 of the $3.8 million surplus represent city funds.
In August, the WJCC School Board approved a spending plan that requests to use some of the excess funds from both the city and county. Under the plan for the city’s portion, $97,308 would go to replacing nine school buses; nearly $48,000 would be directed toward textbook adoption and digitalization; $14,310 would be used for a facility condition assessment; and another $115,000 would go to technology improvements, including refreshing equipment at the elementary level and upgrading the district’s network.
The surplus amount representing JCC funds would also be used toward these expenditures. Nearly $1.1 million in county funds would be used for school bus replacement; more than $450,000 would go to textbook adoption and digitalization; $135,690 would fund a facility condition assessment; more than $800,000 would be directed to technology refreshment for elementary schools; and another $270,000 would be used for a technology network upgrade.
The remaining $92,685 of the city surplus funds would be returned to Williamsburg, while James City County would see more than $878,000 returned.
A memo written by City Manager Jack Tuttle recommends City Council approve the spending plan for two capital items: school bus replacement and the technology refresh. James City County Finance Director John McDonald will make the same recommendation to the JCC Board of Supervisors next week.
Following Tuttle’s recommendation would reduce the city’s surplus contribution to $166,855, and increase its returned funds total to $199,628.
According to the memo, the returned funds would compensate for revenue shortfalls in state sales taxes for education for both fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2015, which began July 1.
“Staff suggests any discussion of alternative uses for the surplus funds returned to the localities be deferred until the next budget cycle,” Tuttle wrote in the memo. “A portion of it may become necessary to offset revenue reductions adopted by the State in several legislative sessions that have occurred since the Board’s approval of the FY 2015 budget.”
City Council will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Municipal Building.
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