THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 10, 1995 TAG: 9505100438
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL AND KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
The state's second-largest school system is facing up to $13.3 million in budget cuts and money-shifting to make ends meet in the closing weeks of its fiscal year, according to a memo delivered to City Council members Tuesday.
Teachers and other employees have been asked to give up workshops and conferences for the rest of the school year; principals have been told to pinch pennies; and district officials are hoping that the federal government will give them $3 million more.
Mordecai L. Smith, the school system's chief financial officer, took issue with the city's numbers. While he would not specify how much might need to be cut or moved, he denied that the amount was anywhere near $13.3 million.
The district's finances are in order, Smith said, projecting a $1 million surplus for June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
``The budget is not what I would call in any kind of trouble,'' Smith said. ``We just need to make a few adjustments.''
The measures, outlined to the City Council in a memo Tuesday from city Director of Finance Patricia A. Phillips, conclude that the district's restraint plan is ``optimistic, but probably doable.''
According to the memo, the information about district finances came directly from Smith. But
Smith said Tuesday night that city officials must have misunderstood the district's position.
City officials ``really don't have an understanding, in many cases, of what we're doing,'' Smith said. ``They don't have a full grasp of what's going on.''
School Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette has promised that the school system's $340.7 million operating budget will be in the black come June 30.
Under state law, school boards and superintendents are held personally responsible for maintaining a balanced budget.
Phillips, who has been helping the district monitor its finances, said school officials are doing the right things to bring spending back under control.
``I think that they're taking legitimate steps and are managing it well,'' Phillips said.
The school district's true financial picture may not be known until August, when the books for this year are closed out, officials said.
Faucette had planned to brief School Board members last week about the district's financial status, but postponed that presentation until next week.
In December, he had estimated a shortfall of $7.4 million. He also had said that the school system's money problems would not be allowed to affect schools, students or instruction.
But in a closed-door meeting Tuesday between principals and Deputy Superintendent James L. Pughsley, principals were urged to scrimp, including using school funds at individual schools for supplies and field trips instead of billing them to the school system. Also, instead of being allowed to keep a few hundred dollars on hand at the end of the year for contingencies, principals must now return all unused money to the central office.
One principal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top administrators are ``nickel and diming it.'' School officials hope to collect about $300,000 back from principals.
Other measures outlined in the memo are:
Canceling or postponing workshops and conferences that teachers and other staff members were scheduled to attend in the next few weeks, for a total savings of about $4 million.
Charging tuition for most summer school students - some of whom have not paid tuition in the past - which is expected to generate about $500,000.
Collecting a $1 million rebate on electric charges from Virginia Power. Many municipalities and school districts across the state will receive similar rebates from a rate cut negotiated by the Virginia Municipal League.
Persuading the federal government to give the school system $3 million more in aid for educating military dependents. The school district now gets more than $10 million a year to compensate the city for a law that allows military personnel to pay taxes in their home states instead of where they currently live.
Shifting money from the operating budget to other funds, including the capital improvement budget, for a total of as much as $4.5 million.
City Council member Nancy K. Parker said she found the measures ``a little startling.''
The memo ``caught just about everybody on council a little off-balance,'' she said. ``I think some of us were concerned when we saw it. We were wondering what was not being done.''
Parker said council members hope to get more detailed information about the district's finances during a previously scheduled meeting Friday between city and school officials.
Council member Louisa M. Strayhorn told other council members not to get so worked up about the last-minute cuts, which she says happen every year. The school district never knows how much money it will have to spend until the end of the school year, when it learns how much it will get in federal impact aid for military dependents.
``This to me is a normal thing to do,'' Strayhorn said. ``This is normal procedure when you don't know where $10 million to $12 million is coming from.''
School Board members were surprised by the city's numbers.
``I haven't heard anything on it,'' board Vice Chairman D. Linn Felt said Tuesday night. ``We really expect that this year's budget will be balanced.''
School Board Chairwoman June T. Kernutt said, ``Mr. Smith has assured me several times that we're on solid ground. And since he's the chief financial officer, I rely on what he tells me.
``I would be concerned if I thought instruction to children was being affected. I have no reason to believe that it is.''
KEYWORDS: BUDGET VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD
by CNB