The Virginian-Pilot
©
PORTSMOUTH
School Board and City Council members agreed Monday night to send a joint resolution to the governor and state legislators decrying proposed cuts to education.
"Oh, they'll fuss with us and say, 'Oh, we ain't going to give them that,' but we've got to tell them that we don't like it," Mayor James Holley said.
The decision came at the groups' joint meeting where leaders discussed the budget challenges of the city and schools.
School leaders said the division could be operating on up to nearly $19 million less next school year under some recent state budget cut proposals. That's assuming, among other factors, that the city funds the division next year at this year's rate.
Several council members indicated they'd like to keep the funding the same but can't say for certain what they'll be able to do because the city's revenue picture still isn't clear.
"We're going to try to keep education as well-funded as we can," Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. said.
A nearly $19 million shortfall for the school division could mean, among other things, that 42 additional teaching positions could be eliminated through attrition or pay could be reduced by 3 percent, school leaders said.
Superintendent David Stuckwisch said about 340 positions have been cut out of the division over about the past five years. He said the division is "getting to our last positions that we can survive without."
The School Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on its proposed budget at this Thursday's board meeting. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the sixth-floor City Council chambers in City Hall, 801 Crawford St.
Pilot writer Dave Forster contributed to this report.
Cheryl Ross, (757) 446-2443, cheryl.ross@pilotonline.com
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oopps
happy fingers again - know nothing
waste of time
This is how out of touch all the local city councils are with the citizens they purport to represent. Stop whining and get busy deciding what is a priority and what can be cut. Families across your cities are making cuts, scrambling just to stay in their homes.
Start at central administration and cut to the bone. Then cut out the lousy teachers, stop carrying anyone solely based on seniority. How much harder do good teachers have to work to make up for their colleagues that shouldn't be there in the first place? Every parent can tell you horror stories about teacher that can't write a coherent sentence, can't do basic math, no nothing about science, or current events. This is not to knock all teachers; but those that don't speak out only perpetuate the problem.
I am personally making a small fortune offering private tutoring to children that are perfectly capable of learning. It breaks my heart to see these children labeled with designations that stay with them all their school years. It is time for this abuse and neglect to end.