The counties need to reduce spending due to lower tax collections came home to the school board April 1. Lower assessment and reduced state funding has had an impact in many county departments, but none bigger than the school board.
Steve’s Leesburg Blog
After hours of debate, the Loudoun County School Board adopted a school budget of $745,600,922 about $55 million more than this years and taking into account Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick’s package of $48.7 million in reductions. Harrick’s proposed reductions include reducing pay raises from 6 percent to 3 percent, eliminating 36 new positions for English as a Second Language teachers and assistants and increasing the average class size by one student.
On the plus side, the board voted to provide two more paid holidays for classified, or non-licensed employees and to expand full-day kindergarten services to three more elementary schools. Pricilla B. Godfrey (Blue Ridge) originally had made a motion to introduce full-day Kindergarten to four schools, Aldie, Lincoln, Hillsboro, and Middleburg. Although all four were not approved, three schools does make the statement that the county is serious about full-day kindergarten.
The added three school full-day program is partly funded by the elimination of $160,357 from the budget which was destined for the purchase of interactive whiteboards and the elimination of PDAs intended for physical education instructors.
Steve’s Comments
It’s hard to imagine a county said to be one of the richest in the country does not have sufficient funds to provide adequate raises and for new teachers, plus one more full-day elementary school with resorting to things like taking away PDAs from coaches.
