THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060431
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 113 lines
A key city staffer has rejected the schools' proposal for local education funding, saying such a policy must be based on revenue and not ``needs, wants or requirements.''
In a memo dated Monday, E. Dean Block, the city's director of management services, recommended that the City Council adopt the proposal offered by the city staff in December that would give the schools slightly more than 53 percent of the budgeted revenue from some city taxes, or about 43 percent of all city general fund revenues.
The formula would be revised periodically and could be adjusted. Any additional money would have to come from a tax increase earmarked for the schools.
School officials have warned that the funding proposal would threaten some existing services, would provide no money for raises and would not cover the cost of opening two new schools this fall, among other things.
In his memo to City Manager James K. Spore, Block wrote:
``Many of the comments we have received from school personnel reflect opposition to the formula because schools doesn't (sic) get `enough' money for their `needs.' Well neither does the city.''
School officials said they were hopeful that council members would show more flexibility than was reflected in the memo when they consider the proposal Feb. 11.
Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney said he and board leaders plan to meet with the city manager and council leaders Friday to discuss the matter.
``I have to assume a willingness to meet and negotiate is still a willingness to be flexible,'' Jenney said.
Board member Arthur Tate said he also believes there is room for negotiation.
``That was Dean Block,'' Tate said of the memo. ``It wasn't City Council.''
Both Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf and Vice Mayor W. D. Sessoms expressed hope that Friday's meeting would resolve the conflict.
``Is there a way that the council and the School Board can come together in finding a way to fund salary increases in an equal amount to both sides?'' Sessoms said. ``I see that as a key issue right now.''
``I would hope that some compromise could be reached,'' Oberndorf said. She also said she is still committed to the recommended policy change and doesn't understand the School Board's resistance to it:
``I guess what I'm missing is why is there such resistance to setting priorities for the system,'' she said. ``If part of your priorities are absolute, then say: We need to have a public hearing, we need to have the public raise their tax rate. Because there will be some things the city will have to ask the public for also, that will not be covered in the amount of money projected.''
School officials say they already set priorities, but they are unwilling to take the heat for tax increases when they aren't getting enough money for current services.
``This thing is bad for the children of Virginia Beach. It's bad for the school system,'' board member Tim Jackson said. ``I am of the belief that we are obligated to present a budget that best represents the needs of the children. That budget could not be accomplished under the city's formula.''
A school committee which included a retired assistant city manager for finance and three former School Board chairmen suggested that schools receive slightly more than 53 percent of all actual tax revenue not earmarked for other purposes. The school district should also get that same percentage, 53.13 percent, of any money left over at the end of the fiscal year, according to the committee.
But the city must fund departments besides the school district.
``If the formula is changed to favor the schools even more, we simply create a worse problem for city departments,'' the memo reads.
Block also wrote that promising 53 percent of the the money left over at the end of the fiscal year takes away flexibility from council, undermines the idea of returning unspent money to the departments or offices which accumulated it, and leaves the division vulnerable to a city shortfall in funds. School and city staff could work together on projections to minimize the difference between what is budgeted and what is actually collected, Block said.
School officials have said they are willing to take the chance of the city coming up short, particularly because the city traditionally underestimates revenue.
Under the city's proposal, the schools would receive about $11 million more in local funding than this year. The school proposal would provide the schools with a projected $29 million more than the city plan.
Block contends it is too early for school officials to predict there won't be enough money for raises.
``Perhaps, if salaries are a priority, the board may have to look at some of the programs that were added in recent years without recognition of their costs,'' he wrote.
School officials said their numbers are solid and those calculations showed no room for raises or even to cover inflation without substantial cuts to programs. More than 85 percent of the budget is for personnel costs.
The school's committee report released two weeks ago reads in part: ``It is anticipated that the proposed funding for FY 97/98 would fall $12.2 million short of current operations. This shortfall does not include an anticipated $1.2 million reduction in Federal Impact Aid, or any salary increases for the district's employees.''
City officials have said their proposal is designed to give school leaders more fiscal autonomy and accountability. And it was meant to diffuse the annual budgetary battle between the groups. The percentage used was based on the amount schools received last year, the largest local contribution ever.
However, school officials point out that last year's increase was a correction for several years of improper budgeting the culminated in a fiscal crisis, not an influx of cash for new programs. And some contend the city's proposal is meant to punish the district for that crisis and for the board's deferral on deciding whether to consolidate some services with the city.
Board member Donald Bennis was among those who said there still is room for compromise. MEMO: Staff writer Karen Weintraub contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Timothy R. Jenney said, ``I have to assume a
willingness to meet and negotiate is still a willingness to be
flexible.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL