Board of Education Budget Update – 9/16/2009

Posted by Bob on September 16, 2009 under Daily Blogs | Be the First to Comment

Much attention has been duly devoted to the 2008 – 2009 Board of Education budget deficit.  The Joint Boards of Finance and Mayor and Burgesses recently authorized the transfer of ONE MILLION TWENTY TWO THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED FORTY EIGHT and 49/100THS  ($1,022,848.49)  DOLLARS from contingency to cover the shortfall.  Said funds were obtained from surpluses in existing municipal accounts.  Funds appropriated to contingency from 2008-2009 departmental surpluses can be viewed here. Funds appropriated from contingency to cover deficits in 2008-2009 budget accounts can be viewed here.

Comments from members of the Joint Boards and the Board of Education have been heated in recent weeks.  I have been vocal in expressing my disappointment over the deficit.  The reality is that almost no one wants to divert attention from our common goal of a better education for our children.  Budget deficits detract from this endeavor, divide people and reduce the public trust in their government.  While we must learn from the lessons of the 2008-2009 budget, it is now time to move forward and ensure that we address the pressing issues that confront the 2009-2010 budget.

The 2009-2010 budget adopted Tuesday evening contains approximately ONE MILLION THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND and 00/100THS ($1,300,000.00) DOLLARS worth of cuts to personnel that need to be made in the next couple weeks.  The decisions that will follow to account for this shortfall will be painful no matter what form they ultimately take.  We need to consider all options and be creative to ensure that whatever actions are taken have the least impact on students and staff.