Williamsburg-James City County Schools Superintendent Steve Constantino unveiled a proposed budget for the division for the coming fiscal year that is more than $2.9 million bigger than last year’s.
The budget totals $124,355,859 for fiscal year 2016, which begins July 1 — a 2.4 percent increase over the current budget.
Much of that additional spending is directed toward staff compensation, insurance costs, growing enrollment and technology.
The proposed budget lays out more than $1.9 million for a step increase for most teachers – about a 2.5 percent wage increase – and an equivalent percentage increase for most staff members.
WJCC Chief Financial Officer Christina Berta said funds had not been made available for raises for employees at the top of the step chart, and their salaries would remain frozen.
The budget also outlines $1.3 million to cover increases in the school division’s insurance costs.
Another $675,000 is proposed for hiring nine additional full-time teachers — seven at the high school level and one each for the middle and elementary levels. Constantino said division projections showed an enrollment increase of 200 students by September of the coming school year, and the additional teachers would be necessary to maintain WJCC’s current classroom size goals.
The superintendent’s proposed budget also includes $705,000 for the division’s annual technology refresh to upgrade systems and equipment.
Constantino proposed a combination of additional revenue and spending cuts in other areas to cover the additional expenditures.
The proposed budget identifies about $1.4 million in budget reductions for the next fiscal year, including decreased fuel and electricity costs and reductions in WJCC’s required contribution to the Virginia Retirement System.
The majority of the savings – more than $1.1. million – comes from attrition, which are lowered costs associated with retirements and staff turnover.
The rest of the additional expenditures would be covered by increased contributions from the City of Williamsburg and James City County, which combine to provide more than 64 percent of the funding for the proposed budget.
The document requests a more than $1.7 million increase in the local contribution to the schools compared with last year, with more than $1.6 million of that increase coming from the county. In total, the proposed budget asks for more than $91.7 million in local contributions — $7,639,979 from the city, $71,978,709 from the county — for FY 2016.
Both Board of Supervisors Chairman Michael Hipple (Powhatan) and County Administrator Bryan Hill attended Constantino’s presentation.
Constantino also said WJCC’s Capital Improvement Plan had been reconfigured to account for the division’s upcoming construction of a fourth middle school at the site of the James Blair administrative offices.
The CIP asks for $25.8 million for middle school construction for FY 2016.
Although the new middle school is necessary to meet the division’s future enrollment needs, Constantino said, its high price tag meant postponing other expenditures. The CIP includes about $1 million to replace no more than nine of the division’s 133 school buses that have met its use standards of 15 years of service or 150,000 miles.
Constantino said the school division had weathered the storm of the Great Recession and increasing enrollment better than other districts, but careful management was still necessary to ensure its long-term financial stability.
“Our budget situation in Fiscal Year 15 was not as severe as the year before, but we have by no means cleared all our financial obstacles,” he said.
School Board Chairman Jim Kelly (Jamestown) said the board members had not had a chance to review the document before the meeting, but would continue to examine it as the school board begins discussions with the city and county.
“The county and the city have always been very supportive of the schools, and so I expect that we have a good discussion and I expect they will be as supportive as they can,” he said.
The school board, James City County Board of Supervisors and the Williamsburg City Council will participate in a joint work session March 11. A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for March 17.
The school board is set to approve the document at its March 24 meeting to pass along to the two municipalities.
Both the Board of Supervisors and the City Council must approve funding allocations for the proposed budget before the school board can adopt the document. Final adoption of the document is currently set for May 19.
