Spotsylvania County Public Schools faces a possible $21 million budget gap for 2024, and teachers and libraries could wind up on the chopping block.
A budget proposal presented during a contentious board meeting Monday by Superintendent Mark Taylor — which he called “informational only” and not a recommendation — showed that slashing 23 paraeducator positions, 60 teacher jobs, and eliminating school libraries altogether could be money-saving options for the district if it doesn’t get funding from the county and state.
The $21,854,908 gap could be reduced to $8.1 million using local funding from Spotsylvania County’s new $0.8377 real estate tax rate, which would generate $19 million in new revenue, according to the proposal.
Taylor laid some of the blame for budget issues on politics among state lawmakers in Richmond and pointed to HB 1400 in particular — the so-called “Skinny Budget” that would cut $5.25 million from the school system.
He said the county finance team spent time “making sense of the worksheets” for HB 1400.
“What we saw was a pattern of roughly proportional impacts to our comparator counties, that would all, I will say suffer, if HB 1400, which has been passed by both chambers, gets signed into law by Governor Younkin,” Taylor said.
“This is a potential $5.25 million hole, depending on what Richmond does. We all know there’s a lot of politics going on between particularly the Senate and the governor’s office. And there’s a lot of contention, and we’re caught in the middle.”
Taylor’s presentation to the school board meeting was interrupted, and sent into a brief recess, by boos from the crowd at the meeting.
“I don’t want to,” Taylor said of possible cuts amid growing discontent from people in attendance as he mentioned slashing individual school budgets and eliminating libraries, “but these may be needs.”
Members of the board frequently snapped at one another during the meeting, often about who could talk and for how long, but seemed to be in agreement with criticisms over the proposal.
“There are some hard issues in here and we’re certainly not going to accept some of them,” said board member Kirk Twigg, who represents the Livingston District. “So, at any rate, whatever the number we receive may be, I also want to share with you that the libraries will not be a part of that.”
Courtland District member Rabih Abuismail called the proposal “frightening.”
“There’s a lot of emotions in the room. Everyone’s upset. Everyone’s freaking out seeing the possible choices. And some of these are, respectfully, absurd. And I just hope we don’t even entertain them even as an option,” Abuismail said before chiding the behavior of attendees.
“If we have this behavior at the Board of Supervisors meeting, that’s not going to help us receive the money,” he said.
Nicole Cole, who represents the Battlefield District, was blunt: “Mr. Taylor, what were you thinking? This is what grossly irresponsible looks like.”
“To present items as cuts, as potential cuts, as ideas, like eliminating Governor’s School, eliminating libraries,” Cole said to applause, “It’s hostile. It’s threatening to staff. … It shows how little you as a superintendent value the services that meet the needs of students.”
Chancellor District member Dawn Shelley said there was concern it could be a political ploy to get money from the supervisors.
“That is downright evil,” Shelley said. “If this is the case, just wow. So you did a bait and switch last year with the carryover fund. And with the budget last year by having that … increased budget, and then cutting it down. And now with this. I think it was a bait and switch.”
Taylor reiterated that nothing in the presentation was a recommendation.
“These are observations that, if nothing else, point to the seriousness of our present situation, and the seriousness of our need for the whole dime, the $19 million from the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, and frankly, our need for the state to find its way to filling the gap in the skinny budget, which is for us $5.25 million,” Taylor said.
“We came forward responsibly and in good faith to present the true needs of this division. And they are set before the community. We need the whole dime from our county. We need the state to do their part. And that’s what we’re shooting for here.”
The full meeting can be watched online.
Featured photo courtesy Spotsylvania County
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