Pittsylvania County schools: No layoffs for 2010-11

The Pittsylvania County School Board is keeping its promise to avoid layoffs to balance a $4.5 million budget shortfall for 2010-11.

The School Board held a public forum Thursday night to discuss potential cuts, which included saving $2.6 million through attrition and restructuring contracts. Superintendent James McDaniel said they know of approximately 100 employees who would be leaving the district, although many of those positions would still need to be filled. If they eliminated all the open positions, the district would save about $5.5 million.

“That’s the largest budget cut from the state I’ve ever seen,” said Don Johnson, assistant superintendent for business. “… If there’s any good news at all, it’s better than some of the projections.”

McDaniel and the budget committee prepared a list of 27 prioritized cuts to close the gap. Because the $2.6 million saved is a “fluid number” and a “conservative estimate,” McDaniel said, the savings from eliminating those positions could be higher. In that case, the most prioritized items on the list would receive funding first.

Those cuts — which could potentially be restored — begin with funding the increase in tuition assistance for teachers, signing bonuses, Advanced Placement fees, restoring 40 percent back to athletics, 20 percent back to band allocations, keeping supplements for assistant band and athletic directors, and so on.

“Because of tough economic times and cuts in state funding,” Kathy Buck, president of the Pittsylvania Education Association, said to the board, “the PEA again asks you … to do everything within your power to sustain and to continue to grow everything we have worked so hard to achieve.”

The cuts that are sure to happen include eliminating two open central office positions, the after school use of facilities by non-school organizations, moving to a four-day summer work week, reducing maintenance purchased services, heating fuel, transportation fuel and bus leases.

Other cuts include the teacher mentor program, character education, reducing extra class periods by half, reducing travel by half, eliminating gifted education materials, field trips and lead teacher pay.

Earlier this year, the School Board had considered both a 1- and 2-percent across-the-board pay cut. No pay cuts were in the proposed budget. McDaniel said they comprised the list after meeting with all principals and central office staff, who voted on each item on a list of 55 cuts.

“We’ve reviewed this with the executive team,” McDaniel said. “It does leave existing quality programs in place and it does leave the classroom alone as much as possible.”

The proposed cuts for the band allocation were originally at 30 percent, but reduced to 20 percent (or an increase of $10,000) after a request from School Board member Charles Miller. The extra $10,000 was added to the anticipated savings from attrition.

The majority of discussion focused on funding for band and athletics. Budget committee chairman Neal Oakes suggested going to an all-county band, but McDaniel reminded him that would eliminate jobs. He said that was something to look into in the future.

“This will be a good incentive for our band directors … to get on board with recruiting people to your program if you want your program to survive,” McDaniel said of changes in high school block scheduling and budget cuts.

Regarding the after-school use of facilities by community groups and youth sports leagues, board members said they would leave it up to the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors to handle.

“We’re not in the business of youth sports,” Chairman Calvin Doss said. “We’re in the business of education.”

Five members of the public, including Buck, two students, a guidance counselor and Director of Secondary Education Ann Cassada, addressed the board during the comments section.

“We can’t control the budget set by the state,” said Dan River Middle School eighth-grader Marie Terry, who suggested cutting hours for anyone whose pay was cut, “but we can control how we compromise and work around it as best we can.”