THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 6, 1995 TAG: 9512060430
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
The School Board approved more steps Tuesday to further tighten the district's financial belt, including measures that will likely result in fewer student field trips and require some administrators to substitute for absent teachers.
The two measures - of five recommended by the administration - are among the district's first cost-cutting initiatives to curtail a projected $6.6 million deficit for 1995-96 that directly affect the classroom.
School officials want to avoid any repeat of the $12.1 million budget shortfall in 1994-95 that led to a special grand jury investigation, which began Monday.
Money earmarked in the operating budget to pay for student field trips will not be eliminated. But schools now will be asked to pitch in $1 per mile to help cover gasoline and other transportation expenses.
Schools can use money raised by PTAs or through fund-raisers - or some of their current allowance for field trips - to come up with the mileage money. The change probably will lead to fewer proposed field trips, said interim Superintendent James L. Pughsley.
Board members said they regretted the move. But the district's financial pinch, they said, compelled them to approve the recommendations.
``It's always difficult to make a recommendation that impacts the schools directly in some way and obviously field trips do,'' Pughsley said.
Said board member Joseph D. Taylor: ``This is a painful exercise.'' But one that's necessary to get the district on track, he said.
Asking some supervisors to fill in for teachers has been done in previous years, Pughsley said.
In October, the administration projected a $6.6 million deficit in this year's budget, leading board members to approve stringent cost-cutting measures aimed at ending the school year in the black. But since then, the central office has said that figure could climb by up to $2 million. Even more cuts could come in January.
The previous budget cuts have affected a broad range of programs and services - from Saturday detention to school bus purchases.
So far, this school year's cuts - including measures approved Tuesday - will free about $7.5 million to cover any 1995-96 deficit, said Donald A. Peccia, an associate superintendent. Among the latest cuts:
The elimination of all out-of-town travel paid for with money from the operating budget.
A 25 percent reduction in the use of part-time replacement workers in the central office or other administrative offices.
Freezing some of the money set aside for certain ``purchase order'' requests such as copier repairs.
The projected deficit for this school year does not address last year's shortfall.
Some of the same problems that fed the $12.1 million budget deficit contributed to the current year's problems. They include underestimating the number of teachers needed and failing to budget a single dollar for physical and occupational therapists for special-education students.
The district also is likely to bring in less money than projected this school year because of an overestimation of federal impact aid - money the federal government gives to school districts serving a large number of military dependents.
The special grand jury can subpoena school district records, as well as acting and former school district personnel. But it can't extend its legal reach to Georgia, where former Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette, who has become a focal point in the fiscal crisis, now works. Instead, the jury could only request that Faucette return on his own to Virginia Beach to answer questions.
On Tuesday, the board decided to send Faucette an invitation: It voted unanimously in favor of a resolution asking him to accept any requests to appear before the special grand jury to testify under oath; and to bring any supporting documents. Board member Tim Jackson submitted the resolution.
In recent months, Faucette has said he would be willing to return to answer questions.
KEYWORDS: BUDGET DEFICIT VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB