THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090440
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
Budget battles in Washington are creating casualties in South Hampton Roads, as local school districts face the potential loss of millions of federal dollars they had counted on to make it through the school year.
Nearly every local district could suffer because of the failure of Congress and the White House to agree on a final budget for the current fiscal year, which began last October.
The impasse has forced educators to take emergency steps to prepare for a shortfall in so-called federal ``impact aid,'' which since the 1950s has been supplied to school districts that serve large numbers of military families.
Last year, the five school districts in South Hampton Roads received more than $14 million in impact aid. The cash is designed to make up for a loss of tax dollars due to federal activity, since military bases and many military families do not pay local property taxes.
Officials in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Portsmouth say steps they have taken to offset potential shortfalls include:
Filling job openings with temporary employees or leaving them vacant.
Delaying maintenance on school facilities.
Postponing purchases of some classroom and office equipment and supplies.
Chesapeake officials have identified potential spending cuts, but have not yet acted. But it could mean that the district will not have its usual savings of about $1.5 million to return to the city this year, officials said. Only Suffolk, which is less dependent on the aid, expects to avoid making sacrifices.
``I've been real nervous the past two months over this issue,'' said Norfolk Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. ``Every time negotiations fall apart at the federal level on the budget, I get a little more nervous.''
Norfolk is banking on $3.7 million, enough money to pay for 100 teachers.
``We can't go lay off 100 teachers,'' Nichols said. ``Where else we'd get the money, I don't know.''
As a precaution, Norfolk is using long-term substitute teachers instead of full-time teachers because of unanticipated growth in enrollment, has canceled equipment purchases and has spent $600,000 of unbudgeted funds on ordinary building maintenance to meet safety standards, officials said.
In Virginia Beach, the situation has added to already serious budget woes. The beach district expected to get $12.9 million when it developed its current budget, just under 4 percent of the district's $358 million budget.
Virginia Beach officials worry that they may get only $7.1 million, under a formula that distinguishes between students of active military personnel and civilian employees. That would represent about 2 percent of the budget.
``Two percent of my lunch money is not much, but 2 percent of Virginia Beach schools' budget is a lot,'' said Anne Meek, executive assistant to the superintendent in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach schools received the most in the commonwealth in 1995 - $8.2 million - followed by Norfolk at $3.6 million.
In fiscal year 1995, 55 of Virginia's 133 school districts received a total of $30.5 million in federal impact aid, according to figures compiled by the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools.
In a normal year, Congress would have passed a budget before the fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, and school districts would have received their aid shortly afterwards.
Because of the impasse, districts will remain in the dark at least until mid-March. That's when time expires on a continuing budget resolution approved by Congress as a temporary measure to keep the government running. As part of that measure, Congress made a portion of the impact aid funds available to districts with the greatest need.
Norfolk last week applied for some of its funds from the U.S. Department of Education. Meek said Virginia Beach recently received $3.5 million out of a $5 million request.
``I think it's absolutely outrageous this should be permitted to happen,'' said U.S. Rep. Owen B. Pickett, a Democrat whose 2nd District includes parts of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. ``It achieves nothing except a disruption of the normal government process.''
The uncertainties have caused migraines, because unlike federal lawmakers, local officials are required by law to balance their budget by year's end.
``We're playing things very close,'' said Sidney Duck, an assistant superintendent in Portsmouth. ``We don't have any choice but to hold back at this stage on any number of expenditures. We're simply not going to put ourselves in a position of overspending.''
In Portsmouth, as in most districts, salaries account for more than 80 percent of its budget, which is $85.2 million. That leaves 15 percent or so - about $12 million - for discretionary spending on other needs, such as classroom supplies and equipment and other programs. Impact aid falls into that smaller amount, illustrating the significance of the $785,000 the district had expected to receive.
``It's more than we spend on brand new elementary reading and math books on every kid,'' said Superintendent Richard Trumble.
To protect against impact aid losses, Portsmouth has scaled back purchases of instructional supplies, such as pens and paper, and office and classroom equipment, such as VCRs, TVs, typewriters and audio-visual aids.
Officials said education dollars, including the impact aid, are at the center of the ongoing Congressional debate about the role of the federal government and how best to balance the budget. Local school officials said the outcome of this year's budget plan could foreshadow an era in which federal funds for education continue to dwindle.
``We are not real optimistic about getting any increases in federal revenue in general, and we're not adding programs that rely on federal funds,'' said Michael K. Brinkley, director of business and finance in Suffolk.
KEYWORDS: BUDGET SCHOOLS FEDERAL FUNDS by CNB