The Franklin County School Board faces a $6-$7 million dollar deficit for the upcoming school year. Under the Virginia law, local school boards do not have the power to raise revenue. That function is the responsibility of the local board of supervisors or city council. The Virginia General Assembly is the process of passing a budget for the state that will reduce education funding to localities and will not provide any additional revenues for local governments to put towards their school budgets. At the local level, the governing bodies must either reduce spending through cuts in services and/or raise taxes.
In Franklin County, the tax rate on real estate, the primary means of funding local services, is $.46 per $100 in value of the property. For every penny the tax is raised on a $200,000 piece of property would cost the owner $20 and would net the county about $500,000 when applied to all property owners.
Both the county government and school board are considering a host of cuts. This article in the Roanoke Times outlines some of the items up for consideration. After reading the article and considering some of our discussions in class, what would you do to deal with the deficit the school system faces? What should the school board establish as their priorities?
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Obviously with the school board facing a $6-$7 million budget cuts, many things will have to be looked at in order to make ends meet. However it is tough just to say "lets cut one thing." Lets say about staff. If we cut several staff members, we will save money but it will affect our education quality. Every option is going to hit the area in some course.
ReplyDeleteWe must be wise to our cuts though. We can not rob our students of the oppertunity to find themselves as people with some of our programs offered at the high school. I know with myself that I would not be the same person if I was not able to learn about music and be able to be part of the music program. I look at myself 6 years ago and if I didn't have band in my life then I would be a different person. One that i'm not sure I would want to be.
I do think raising classes to some degree is worth it to help kill some of the deficet. If we rase it by .15 cents we could shed off 3 million dollars there. I know that can be a huge raise depending on the person but it could possibly be worth it to instill the great education offered at Franklin County.
As much as I dislike just the landscape and the unexcitment at Franklin County, I am blessed to see the oppertunities that was given to us. We just need to be smart with what we are cutting. There are certain programs that can be combined and such in order to save spots. If we can move figures around chip off the debt by a little bit in every direction then I can see us still being prestigious during these hard economic times.
Although cutting programs at the Gereau Center may benefit the county's school budget, it would be a shame to deny those opportunities to future students. Cutting salaries and faculty will also hurt our standards of education. If need be, although it would greatly affect students, we should begin cutting our extra-curricular activities. Franklin County prizes itself on having an outstanding educational program, and we should try to keep as many educational possibilities available as possible.
ReplyDelete- Samantha
I believe the idea of raising the tax a penny is a good idea, especially when you consider that for a house that costs $200,000 it would only add $20 to taxes. In addition, it would also be beneficial to delay any unnecessary or cosmetic procedures to the school. If something is not necessary, money should not be spent on it. Also, although it may be harsh, first year teachers should be let go first if anyone needs to be let go. It seems to be more fair to let inexperienced teachers instead of those who have been giving to the school for five, ten, or more years. I do not however, believe that any programs, clubs, or classes should be cut. Whether or not a class is important to me, I know it is important to somebody..
ReplyDeleteGotta go now! Back to the classroom!
Love
Taryn
This situation is a big bag of suckitude, and I find the biggest worry is that if we cut any programs, students will suffer.
ReplyDeleteWhat I suggest is we make the unnecessary programs on the chopping block privately funded. They would be allowed and considered a school program, but not on our budget, not in the school's hands.
Maybe a $5 fee to join a team or something, and let fundraising do the money-making, not state money. They could use school equipment, or perhaps the school could even rent out space for whatever private club needs it.
I don't know, I'm just glad we're getting out when we are.
All I have to say is I am glad we are leaving when we are. Next year is going to be a really tough year in the school systems. The School Board should start by cutting teachers that dont teach high priority classes. The important thing is to have our basic subject courses and A/P classes. Also I believe that sports should become more dependant on themselves. The baseball team doesn't receive a lot of money from the school so we have to do a ton of fundraisers and get donations from people just in order to get the field ready. Teams should just be required to provide for themselves.
ReplyDeleteEven those these two things may help i still believe that it will not cure the problem and it is going to take a while to solve this problem.
Gary G.
I agree that raising the tax a few pennies would be a good idea. When it would raise the county an extra 1/2 a million dollars, why not?! The biggest way to save money , in my opinion, would be to quit spending unnecessary money on cosmetic issues. Why did the Law Building have to have new gutters now?
ReplyDeleteA big money saver would be the turf for the football field. Why is it logical to spend almost $1 million on new grass? Is education not more beneficial than the football program? I think that someones priorities are screwed up of they think that a new field is more important than someones education.
Also, with the discussion of closing the 2 smallest elementary schools, Im not so sure. Why did they just decide to build a new school, in an under populated area that could pass as a hotel? Again I say, someones priorities are not in order.
Tracie
There's no denying that Franklin County schools are in a bad place right now. Faced with such a large deficit for the impending school year, something has to give, whether it be school programs or taxes.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I favor raising the taxes. Were the county to raise taxes, the increased payment required of property owners would be negligible. In the grand scheme of things, an increase of twenty dollars to the owner of a $200,000 property barely matters.
In addition, the school should cut back on unnecessary spending. Some programs, including the arts and Governor's School, are immeasurably beneficial to students. Speaking as a Governor's School student, I can safely say that it has been integral in shaping the person I am today. Something like, say, the Windy Gap elementary school, however, is not necessary. Apparently the school system has to rearrange districts in order to come close to filling the school. Why, then, did they even bother opening the place?
Something has to go. So let's just be prudent about what does.
I agree with Graham. I'm glad we are leaving when we are. Next year is going to be so different.
ReplyDeleteI believe that raising the taxes locally could prevent cuts in staff or classes. If we cut elective classes, the other classes will be even more overcrowded than they are now.
The budget situation is being felt by everyone. It's not only the school system but other programs throughout the county as well. Administrative buildings are cutting back on almost everything imaginable. Even if the taxes were increased, there is no promise that that school system would receive all of that money.
ReplyDeleteThe argument some Board of Supervisors have is that raising taxes will take away from the value of people and businesses moving to Franklin County. Currently, Franklin County's $.46 real estate tax is the lowest in the region. The next highest is Bedford County as $.50. To be honest I believe even a 4 cent increase in real estate tax.
Some people may say it's too much but Franklin County has finally run into a wall. We have always done so much with so little. The county has always squeezed in every dollar in order to keep the area running. Well now the money is not there and we need to keep things going. The school system is the largest employer in the county. Cutting about 100 jobs, which the School Board has suggested, is ridiculous. Our schools are already overcrowded and there excellent programs providing students with opportunities that are looking to be cut. Many students find their niche through the electives offered. Without them, many would not succeed to their full potential in life.
Programs in the school system still should be cut though. Things such as middle school athletics and maybe even the Gereau Center are good ideas. Honestly, middle school athletics are a waste. Most kids that play in middle school either don’t play in high school or totally play a new position than in middle school. Middle school athletics have lost their purpose and are no longer a training program, it’s a waste. The Gereau Center I believe should not be completely cut, but altered. Providing career and technical opportunities to middle school students is great, but they end up either going into other fields of study or not caring at that age at all.
There should be a balance in preparing this year’s budget. Taxes should be raised and programs cut. Cutting up to 100 teaching positions though is devastating to not only the school system, but Franklin County’s economy. The school system needs to remain strong in order for Franklin County to remain a leader in the area. Times are changing; Franklin County’s taxes need to as well.
Brian Luckett
Having just attended the proposed budget meeting presented by Ms. Decker, there are a lot of thoughts swirling in my mind.
ReplyDelete1) I absolutely favor raising the property taxes in Franklin County...for one, Franklin County has the lowest rate in our entire region! number two, with the economy tanking, we can tap into a bit more funds by raising the property taxes by few cents (meaning approximately $20 to $75 more payment for a homeowner that values that $200,000).
2) As Ms. Decker stated, no one wants any of these to go away. However, under these circumstances, we are going to have to sacrifice our quality of education...as unfortunate as that is to even type.
I agree with cutting few elective classes at the high school and I agree with Brian Luckett on the cuts of middle school atheltics programs.
What I was absolutely shocked at by the proposed budget is the COMPLETE ELIMINATION of the Governor's School program.
I again, I agree with Zach Hughes. Governor's School HAS CHANGED THE TYPE OF PERSON I AM, and the Governor's School also HAS CHANGED BY FUTURE.
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For example, to just give you guys an overview, Governor's School is separated into AM and PM classes (half day program) where majority of Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, Salem, and Roanoke County participate in the AM classes while PM classes are scheduled for mostly Roanoke City students.
There are a total of 270 students and Franklin County makes up 34 of the students.
That's a lot.
We have GOOD QUALITY students who wants to further their education at RVGS.
The director has expressed that he DOES NOT want to lose any Franklin Co. students.
For me, as I said above, Gov School has changed my life and future -- I am currently connected to Virginia Tech -- and it's College of Veterinary Medicine (which is for GRADUATE STUDENTS).
I am doing a research that most GRADUATE STUDENTS perform and I am still only at an age of 18.
Not only research but take a look at our Statistics class.
Our Stats class is named "AP/DUAL ENROLLMENT/GOV SCHOOL STATISTICS Course".
Not only will I have to satisfy the AP curriculum, I have to also satisfy the College curriculum of stats AND ON TOP OF THAT still have to satisfy Gov School's SEPARATE set of standards of curriculum.
All in one year.
Yes, Franklin Co. High does have AP Stats. But it ONLY and SOLELY meets the AP curriculum ... you guys at FC doesn't get the FULL EXPOSURE of AP/College/High-Level Gov School standards.
In stats class, I get exposure to wayyyyy upper level statistical information where FC can't.
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COMPLETE ELIMINATION of Governor's School just doesn't make any sense.
However, I understand the need for funds.
Therefore, I DO SUPPORT some kind of COMPROMISE that would let current attending students FINISH their Gov School experience while NOT LETTING ANY NEW APPLICANTS attend.
That way, the number of students can be reduced while current ones can finish their work.
And, when the economy swings back to the positive side, we can regain FULL funding (maybe in another 4 years or whenever the economy decides to recover).
As you probably have guessed, I am absolutely attached to the Governor's School program - because it did in fact change my life. completely. 180 degrees.
And, I am the proud President of the Governor's School Student Advisory Council...where we, as students fought to regain control of student read morning announcements and other inequalities that teachers imposed upon the students.
I want to end with this: YES WE CAN. Yes it will be hard, but eventually, we will get through this crisis. YES WE CAN.
Se Jeong
VIKTORIOUS SAYS:
ReplyDeleteWow B Luckett...not sounding too much like an elephant after all=) Just kidding...I do love you!
The worst thing I believe that could be done is cut jobs. No more job cuts...we have to maintain jobs for as long as possible(especially teachers). Everyone getting a little bit of money is better than only a few people making bank. A little income for some families is a whole lot better than none.
Therefore I do agreee with budget cuts. Cutting programs would be smart as well. We cannot allow our local government to send the message to the public that education is less important than football. It's not!I really would not be happy about our sports teams being eliminated, but we did not get to chose when we were born. Some things that we have taken advantage of will have to be cut out...cuts are not forever. The plan is to get back to a normality right?!
For the love of pete, RAISE FREAKIN' TAXES! Taxes can always be cut later on when it is not necessary to be so thrifty. One cent is really not too much to ask for...when the education of a child is at risk then whole country may as well be at risk. I do not think that raising taxes will put Franklin County any further at risk for buisnesses coming to the area. It is pretty apparent that businesses are not coming to Franklin County, less we would not be in this situation in the first place. Thank you NAFTA!
Once again, there is no silver bullet. Keep as much staff as possible, enforce budget cuts, cut programs that have few people and are costly, think about what messages are being sent to the public...it could backfire, and raise taxes.
We have to do what needs to be done in order to secure the future for our kids. The situation for our generation is looking pretty dire...we owe it to future generations to fix this.
And...I would just like to take a moment of silence for all public school children who are about to suffer. The class of 2010 got very lucky.
As a student and also a child with both my parents being teachers I see both views of the budget problem. I fully believe that we should raise taxes in our county. Just a few since higher tax would make a world of difference.Cutting salaries is also a good option but I think that it should be a small cut over all the positions. It's sad that we would have to cut some of our nice electives at this school, but all in all it is something that we will have to do, and should do fairly between all the classes. Clubs could also help to raise money for the classes that they are related to allowing some money to still come in. The FFA already gives some of their club money to the agriculture classes and I think that would be a good step to helping with some of cutting of funding for electives. Athletics are also something that could and should be cut. After school athletics could have coaches not paid as much or volunteers so kids could still play but money would be saved. I really think that all gym classes should be saved to help in the fight against childhood obesity, which obviously is a large problem which will only get worse if we do not help our younger generations. The little things will make a big difference in solving these budget problems.
ReplyDelete-Sarah H
There definitely isn't one easy solution to this problem. I think that the only fair way to balance the budget is to cut a combination of things. Unfortunately, whatever the school board decides to do, there are going to be people that are going to end up on the short end of the stick. All of the decisions revolve around the question, "Do we absolutely need this?", but where do you draw the line?
ReplyDeleteMiddle school sports are important but are they absolutely necessary at the middle school level? I actually agree with Dr. Lackey on this idea. Middle school sports do not make enough money to support the program. There are always rec sports kids could be involved in. I know sports give the kids experience for high school level sports and play a major role in kids' health, but I think at the moment, they are more of a hassle than a benefit. The idea of cutting P.E. classes on the other hand, is outrageous. Students of all ages need P.E. Especially, if sports programs are cut.
I think that the focus should be on the core classes, AP, and Gov school. Some electives could stand to stay, but not all of them. I know that what I classify as an "important" elective might not be considered important to someone else, but some of them are only being taken to get an "easy A." The core classes, AP, and Gov school are what prepare us for college. It would be ridiculous to cut those. With some electives being cut, that means some teachers will have to go too. I would rather have elective teachers cut, than have them teach something they were not trained to teach.
Priorities definitely need to be in line. They should not even be thinking about new football turf and a million dollar press box that will be constructed in 5 years. I'm sure that a new roof and gutters could have been spared for a later date, also. School officials need to be focused on the much bigger issues that are happening now.
C Guilliams
I think that the most logical choice would be to raise taxes a wee bit and cut maybe a handful a teaching positions, along with some of the less used programs. I cannot justify using a quarter million dollars on roughly 30 students for governors school. It's a good program, but it's just sucking up money. ( sorry gov school kids <3)
ReplyDeleteI believe a tax increase would benefit the county. The county is among the counties with the least amount of tax on real estate and businesses, so raising taxes would be adequate. There will probably be some angry owners, but it would definitely be worth it. As the board says, low taxes do attract more people into the county, but if schools around the county become deficient in good quality programs for children, the county will not be as attractive to most families, which would inturn have a negative effect in the county's economy. So, overall a tax increase would be beneficial.
ReplyDeletecastaneda
With the deficit as large as it is there isn't a simple solution about how to work the budget out. I believe that education is very important and how money is spent in education makes a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a new elementary school was needed; but spending several million dollars for an extremely elaborate building and current technology wasn't. Now they are talking about not using all of the elementary schools to save money. Why didn't they rethink their plans one year ago? The money that the school systems do have is not being spent wisely.
Raising the tax two cents is a great idea. This would generate much needed money without being too expensive on individuals. Even though this wouldn't make up for all the money needed, it would be a start.
Sandra
There is no quick fix to the school deficit. Nobody really wants to see any programs decreased or cut all together, but at some point some things are going to have to go. My mom is a teacher, so I think that salaries should be decreased before positions are cut. Teachers are the backbone of public education and vital to the success of our schools. They should not be the ones that take the fall for the budget crisis. Like others have said, a tax increase would benifit our county, but there will have to be cuts made too. There simply isn't a way around it.
ReplyDelete-Kenzie Moran
The school budget is a hot-button issue with almost any student. Many argue that we can't afford to cut some of the programs, when in reality we cannot afford to keep them all. Regardless of what program(s) may be cut, someone is going to be upset. Sports may also be on the chopping block, endangering all but basketball and football because they are self-sustaining through ticket sales. The school board will not be able to make everyone happy, but whatever gets cut is most likely in the best interest of our school system.
ReplyDelete-Dustan
Obviously there's no easy way out of this situation, and I don't think any one person should be blamed for the suggested cuts. Something has to go, and they're just trying to figure out the best way possible. I hope those in power listen to the public though, because the proposed solutions don't seem to be the best. Yes, there will have to be staff cuts, and I think a small pay cut should occur too. However, programs should not be cut. Reduced, maybe. But not cut. Governor's school allows students to excel in ways not possible at the high school. The numerous electives on the chopping block offer choice. Band and extracurricular activities like drama offer alternatives to standard art classes (which are required to graduate). The most important thing I feel should be to not limit students' choices. The purpose of the school is to prepare students for their futures. If they're not allowed their individuality, how will they know where they're going in college?
ReplyDelete-Matt Schmachtenberg
Cutting spending is a very difficult thing to do from a small scale or a large scale. There are many things our school system can do, and things they shouldn't do.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think they should do:
With Gov. School, I believe they shouldn't cut it all together, but charge for something. They should either cut transportation, or charge for transportation, because that is a ton of money spent right there. The Gov School students choose to go there, make them drive there. Also, there should be a fee for something else that has to do with Gov. School that can be allowed without making it a private school. Maybe a book fee or something. Also, cut the amount of slots to at most 25.
They should charge for AP Classes. I have taken (as well as are in) three AP classes and they are fantastic. The fact that the grant pays for my test is amazing. Why doesn't the school charge the students a small charge for an AP class, maybe $20-$50. That would add up immensely, and would be well worth it. We already charge for Duel Enrollment, why not AP?
All of the employees should have a paycut of $1,000. That's not going to hurt their salary too much, and it will save an immense amount of money.
What they shouldn't do:
I don't believe, by any means, that they should cut The Gereau Center. CATCE is what makes our county unique and above all the rest. It introduces a variety of classes that are not generalized but tailored to the wants and needs of students who want to go into a certain profession. This is a fantastic program, and should be left the way it is. It's what makes Franklin County the school system it is.
They shouldn't cut the art programs. Students want to come to school and be able to express themselves through art or music, and this school allows them to.
There's so many little things we can trim out of every program in order to make up for the lost money without permenantely harming our school system.
- James Doherty
I think no matter what happens teacher's pay will get cut as well as some classes and programs will get reduced in some way. Rasing taxes for property owners will help the budget but not everyone and can afford to pay for what they dont have. This will make 500,000 dollars appear which is not a lot comparied to 6-7 million dollars we have to make up for. Gereau Center is not going anywhere and either is the Govenor School.However, I do think we need to cut the amount of students who go to the Govenor School like freshmen.Nothing should be cut but something has to give and I think alittle bit of everything is going to get trimmed in some way or other.
ReplyDeleteWatson
Although the public frowns on the raising of taxes, there are major benefits to a small sacrifice. We currently have the lowest tax rate and the second lowest is Henry county at, I BELIEVE, $.51. If Franklin County were to move the tax rate 5 cents up to that, we could be looking at 2.5 million dollars to save for our schools. This would only be a $100 dollar increase in taxes PER YEAR which is a small price to pay for the benefit of the county.
ReplyDeleteThe cutting of electives can be very costly. Many students will not pursue a college education and will rely on electives such as HVAC, Auto-body, Electrical Engineering and so forth, as a means to put them into the workforce straight out of high school. These electives are the roots of Franklin County and are needed to keep these trade industries going. Not to mention many students would drop out because there's no point in learning math and history when you're going to be a farmer. if it weren't for the great elective selection that we have here in Franklin County many students would lose a passion to learn.
I think the Governor's School should be kept; however they should not replace the graduating seniors and only send sophomores - seniors. In addition, if our school has to make cuts, the Gov school should bear some of the weight as well and cut down on spending to reduce the cost it takes to send a student to the gov school - but we can't really control that :)
- Matt C