Current.Archived from 2008.County's shortfall looking worse
The
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors already knew the situation was
bad - but new budget shortfall projections indicate the county's
financial situation is even worse. County staff on Friday projected a
$4.9 million budget shortfall, up from $4.1 million estimate made in
early September. “It's gone up in the wrong direction, county
spokeswoman Lee Catlin said. County officials have been trying to
formulate scenarios where the budget shortfall for fiscal 2010 could be
reduced. The shortfall has changed the way both the Board of
Supervisors and the School Board approach the budget process. The
School Board will consider Moran's plan as a basis for a budget request
that will be sent to the Board of Supervisors. “It's not a good
situation, School Board member Pamela Moynihan said in an interview.
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Oct 25, 2008 - Teachers may not see pay increase
The
Board of Supervisors and School Board held a joint meeting Wednesday
afternoon that went into the evening, but no action was taken to accept
any assumptions about future budget figures. They'll meet again in a
month or so. “Today was not about answers, School Board Chairman Brian
Wheeler said. “It was about the challenges we face. Schools
Superintendent Pamela Moran is expected to give a funding request later
this year for the School Board to review. Board members ultimately will
present the school division's funding request to the Board of
Supervisors. Wheeler said failing to increase teacher salaries is not a
reasonable way to help solve the budget dilemma. The local government
and school division are already trying to bridge a roughly $4 million
funding gap for this fiscal year.
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Oct 1, 2008 - County considers teacher merit pay
Albemarle
County school officials are trying to answer a question often asked:
Should better teachers be paid more? Some models would give teachers
bonus pay for gains in student learning, while others would grant
bonuses for teaching in high-poverty schools or in subject areas that
are hard to staff. Steven Gissendanner, the president of the Albemarle
Education Association, said that the school division is not pushing for
a new compensation scale as part of next year's budget, because it's a
long-term consideration that requires extensive research. If the
schools do eventually adopt a contribution compensation scale, it
likely will not happen for at least two budget cycles, said
Gissendanner, a member of the task force.
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Sep 25, 2008 - Kaine says school cuts may wait a year
Kaine
says school cuts may wait a year. AP) _ Governor Tim Kaine says cuts to
state agencies could range from 2 percent for some to 20 percent for
others, but the cuts to schools will probably be delayed to next year.
On his monthly radio call-in show on WRVA and the Virginia News
Network, Kaine said every line item in the two-year, $77 billion budget
is subject to cuts, including layoffs. Virginia's budget faces a
possible shortfall of nearly $3 billion. But because it's tough to cut
school costs once an academic year has started, education cuts may be
done next fall.
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Sep 25, 2008
Albemarle schools 'excellent' overall, but official says some need to fix gaps
Albemarle
County schools can close “unacceptable achievement gaps by shifting how
officials evaluate student success, the executive director of school
and division improvement hopes. “We are not going to close the
achievement gap unless we [analyze student achievement] school by
school, Luvelle Brown told the School Board late Thursday. In the past,
school officials have presented the School Board and school leadership
teams, such as principals, figures comparing student achievement at
individual schools with that of the entire school division. But the
analysis of student achievement in the 2007-08 school year is being
expanded so that school leaders can better target trouble areas. For
example, the English standardized test scores for economically
disadvantaged students vary significantly among schools - even among
schools that have similar percentages of economically disadvantaged
students. Brown and Bruce Benson, Albemarle's assistant superintendent
for student learning, presented the School Board statistics showing
student achievement broken down by individual schools, student
sub-populations and subject, and comparisons among schools. As for
dealing with a projected $2.4 million shortfall in the school budget,
cuts are being be made as far away from the classroom as possible,
Brown said.
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Sep 12, 2008
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Brown
and Bruce Benson, Albemarle's assistant superintendent for student
learning, presented the School Board statistics showing student
achievement broken down into individual schools, student
sub-populations and subject. In the past, Brown said, school officials
have presented the board and school administrators figures showing
student achievement primarily for the entire division. As a whole, the
school division has done well, but there are specific areas where
schools need improvement, Brown said. Blacks and economically
disadvantaged students show the greatest need for improvement, Brown
said. Brown said he's confident passing rates will increase this
school year, despite a looming budget shortfall, which he hopes will
have minimal effects on student learning. Because of the weak economy,
Albemarle schools face a projected $2.4 million budget shortfall this
year.
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Sep 11, 2008 - County ponders looming budget gap
Albemarle
officials on Wednesday confronted the county's projected $4.1 million
budget deficit, but could only guess how the shortfall in the state
budget could worsen Albemarle's financial crisis. Tucker said experts
project the state's budget shortfall will be at least $1 billion. The
school system's current budget is $151.3 million, while the county's
totals $334.7 million. School officials said they are trying to make
cuts that are as far away from the classroom as possible. The Board of
Supervisors and School Board will have a joint meeting Oct. 1 to
discuss the projected shortfall.
Charlottesville Daily Progress - Sep 10, 2008
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