2009.01.27
Radford head suggests potential cutbacks
Radford City Schools needs to find at least another $326,000 to make up for the $656,546 funding gap in its nearly $14 million operating budget. That's if Gov. Tim Kaine's proposed budget cuts stand.
As it is, the district expects to have a $13.5 million operating budget for 2009-2010, but has Superintendent Chuck Bishop has yet to take any budget recommendations to the board.
He spent part of last week with legislators, but said he didn't get much positive news from his visit to Richmond. Instead, he told the school board tonight about $330,182 in immediate cuts to the 2008-2009 operating budget and suggested some areas where more cuts could be made. Changes not affecting positions include:
- Elimination of lunch-room supervisors
- Eliminiation of local share of textbooks (no new texts)
- Eliminating Stanford 9/10 testing in elementary and secondary schools
- Travel reductions for secondary schools
- Eliminating ticket sales reimbursement for the high school
- Cutting instruction and curriculum development, library books
He also outlined two options that could save the division between $791,000 and $897,578. That would mean:
- Eliminating elementary music and physical education positions
- Eliminating three special education positions
- Eliminating culinary arts and family studies
- Reducing contracts of Career and Technical Education teachers, a high-school guidance counselor and the director of transportation
- Cutting five bus drivers an hour each day
- Cutting back central office clerical workers by 20 percent
- Reducing one or two technology resource teachers
- eliminate one middle-school teacher
- Place math specialists back to the classroom
- Eliminate one or two reading specialists
- Eliminate summer school coaches
- Eliminate band coaches and choral accompanist
In action, the board passed three separate policies that gives it the power to use a reduction in force on all its employee groups.
Bishop said the only hope for the dstirict would be if someone in Richmond decides not to balance the budget "on the back of public education."
Of course, the arts and physical education get cuts...
Comment by Jane Doe — January 29, 2009 @ 1:31 am
The arts and physical education to be cut when already our youth sit inside of their homes and play games and watch television! Let's not impose exercise and culture on their minds for it might interfer with their learning how to 'What'? And, we shall cut spending on Football, Basketball, Track, Soccer and all the sports that get funding! Hey, why not and then we can have over-weight people sitting around wishing they had something to get out of the house to look forward to! Why don't we all just stay in our homes and not have a life outside of it...see how silly that statement looks! Music, Art, theatre and physical education have a place in this world and it should have as well in Radford City! I wonder now why I came back to Radford...surely not for this or to see the adults just simply sit back and do nothing to involve our youth into become a part of our city for the future! I guess that removes the thoughts for a new pool so that Pulaski will stop gaining and we could once again have something for our youth to do in the summer! What is next on your list folks who run Radford City and are you going to simply sit back as often as you do now and make false promise and watch our city become much like Bluefield City and many other places that are falling to the ground?
Comment by Bev Bishop — January 29, 2009 @ 12:24 pm