THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070014
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 54 lines
Virginia Beach City Council will be presented with a plan today that supporters say could end the bout of acrimony that explodes each spring when the city School Board comes - hat in hand - asking for its share of the budget.
Under a revenue-sharing proposal drawn up by city staff, schools would automatically be entitled to a set 53.13 percent of projected tax dollars. That is the percentage of revenue currently assigned to schools. If educators wanted more money than that formula would supply, they'd have to request it from council.
Theoretically, it would be possible for council to provide it by reallocating funds from other city projects to schools. But those getting cut could undoubtedly protest. If instead of cutting others tax increases were required, the schools would get the blame.
The annual Virginia Beach battle over the budget is often contentious, and it was exacerbated two years ago by a $12.1 million school-budget deficit. City administrators are right to try to find innovative and constructive ways to handle school funding.
Much of the problem can be traced to an unwieldy system that provides for an elected School Board but does not permit it to levy taxes. Since the School Board does not answer to City Council but is dependent on it for funds, the school budget is an annual irritant.
School Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney last year floated the idea that the school system might someday seek ``fiscal autonomy,'' i.e. taxing authority. Now city staff argue that the revenue sharing idea is the answer.
Jenney said this week he could support a funding formula like revenue sharing but that the plan being offered for consideration needs some refinement.
If revenue sharing is to be considered, any plan should provide for the equitable sharing of interest on city funds and unexpected budget surpluses, like the $20 million bonanza the city found this year. And all city revenues, not just real estate and personal property taxes, should be included in the sharing formula.
But the idea at the heart of this plan is questionable. Budgets should not be put on autopilot. The job of the budget analysts in both the city and the school system is to sit down each year and hammer out a financial plan that best meets the needs of the people of Virginia Beach.
Trying to avoid the hammering by tying schools to a fixed percentage of revenues ignores the fact that circumstances change. School-age population rises and falls, revenues wax and wane. By making the allocation of dollars to schools mechanical, schools could easily wind up with more money than they need in some years, less than they require in others. It also looks like a way for elected officials to avoid the tough choices that it's their job to make.
We urge council to proceed cautiously on revenue sharing and wait until the School Board and interested citizens have a chance to weigh in on it.