The Virginian-Pilot
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PORTSMOUTH
The school division faces a surprisingly low gap of $1.8 million between projected spending and revenue in its next budget, School Board members were told Thursday.
"We are in better shape than I was predicting we'd be," Dan Pendarvis, the assistant superintendent for budget and planning, said at a work session of the board.
The budget proposal includes a 1 percent cost-of-living raise for all employees, which would cost the division $813,000. Workers' last pay raise was September 2009, when they moved a single step on the wage ladder. Since then, full-time workers got a $500 bonus, with a $250 bonus for part-time employees, drawn from the division's share of the federal Education Jobs Fund act.
Pendarvis said the projected budget assumes level funding from the city of $51.6 million, $1.8 million in savings on health insurance and $1.6 million more from the state because of an expected enrollment increase of more than 300 students. Total enrollment is expected to be 14,465. The division also could have to pay an additional $4 million in pension contributions.
The shortfall is far less than the more than $10 million gap Pendarvis estimated in the fall. But Superintendent David Stuckwisch cautioned that much can change depending on decisions by the City Council and General Assembly.
"This is a moving target - it's far from over," he said of the budget.
Stuckwisch said school operating costs have already been cut as far as possible, which leaves eliminating employees as the most likely option for reducing spending.
"We'll do as many of them as we can do by attrition," he said. "We're looking at administrative, clerical folks, teachers."
Board member Claude Parent said teachers should be first in line if the division cannot give a cost-of-living raise to all employees.
"If we're going to retain classroom teachers, first of all we have to be sure our classroom teachers get that 1 percent," Parent said. He recommended that workers such as custodians be second, with administrators and principals third.
The board will meet with the City Council at 5 p.m. Jan. 24, with the budget among issues to be discussed.
Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com
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Portsmouth School Budget
Maybe they wouldn't have to lay off any employees if they stopped their administrators from driving school owned vehicles home to Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Newport News and numerous other locations including Portsmouth. This is a perk that costs Portsmouth taxpayers more with each gasoline price increase. Perhaps Steven should do a story on this subject while the admins are discussing their budget woes.
Good Job
Kudos to Dr. Dave for continuing to do a good job leading Portsmouth schools.
We appreciate it!
on january 11
The Pilot wrote concerning keeping a reporter out of a meeting discussing the School budget, "Higher pension contributions and other costs could create a gap of more than $10 million between revenue and spending, Assistant Superintendent for Budget and Finance Dan Pendarvis told the board late last year." Now 2 days later the gap is only 1.8 million coming from the same individual that drafts the budget. Sounds like Pendarvis needs to join Rusty Jordan from Social Services in the unemployment line.
If the city can boot your car for not paying the excessive
property tax fee, why doesn't the school put handcuffs on kids until their parents pay a ransom.
And if they don't pay the ransom, then the school could add storage fees, and past due charges for every day the parent doesn't pay.