School Divison Presents 2012 Budget to Council

The $36 million Manassas Park City Schools 2012 operating budget was officially presented to city council Tuesday.

 Tuesday’s presentation is the final step in the school division’s budget timeline before the governing body adopts the operating budget for the entire city—a budget that includes an agreement to give 57 percent of its non-earmarked revenue to the school division.

 The division’s previously steps included reaching out to the community and gathering input from parents and other residents in Manassas Park.

 “This board is very actively engaging the community … we have identified ways to continually and maybe even more effectively reach out to the public and to all stakeholders,” Manassas Park City Schools School Board Chairman Michael Wine said to council.  “Whether you have children or not, the school system has an impact on your life—there’s no doubt about that. It will have an impact on your life and the community.”

 One in five people in Manassas Park is a student, Dr. Bruce McDade, superintendent of the school division said.

 The student body is diverse and this is welcomed, but it also creates the need for additional and sometimes expensive programs to accommodate the entire student body, he said.

 Some 12 percent of the student body are special education students and about 28 percent are classified as English language learners.

 “When you build a budget, you really have to start with a mission: What is it that you hold true? What are your values, your core beliefs? What is your vision?  … Of course our vision in Manassas Park is to educate the whole child, with the ultimate goal of creating individuals who will be successful and productive members of society,” McDade told council.

 On to the school board, slightly less than the $36,011,454 that was approved by the board in March.

 Manassas Park City Schools Finance Director Krista Kelly said in the past few weeks, there was a revenue adjustment of about $300,000 in additional funds received by the school district upon finalization of the state budget. 

 When calculated by expenditures by type, about 54 percent of the final budget is spent on salaries.

 The approved budget includes an increase in employer contributions to the Virginia Retirement System and the adding of five new positions, she said. 

 Also included will be an adjustment to the salary scale for the transportation employees who are on pay levels one through 10.  Traditionally, a pay level equates to a year of service within the school system. 

Some people with experience prior to hire may start at a higher pay level.

 This change was important in helping the school system become more competitive with the other northern Virginia school systems, school administrators said.

  The budget also includes money for most employees to get a one percent salary supplement, Kelly said.

 That one percent is calculated on employees’ base pay only—not base pay plus any additional compensation they get because of advanced degrees or special positions they hold, she said.

  School system employees who will not get the bonus are: transportation employees that are affected by the salary scale adjustment, superintendents, directors and principals. 

 Sixteen percent of the budget is spent on benefits and 13 percent is spent on debt services, which have increased about $114,972.

 As part of the revenue sharing agreement, the city is expected to give $15,474,608 to the school system—about $309,140 more than what was received last year, according to school division calculations.

 City officials have said that the school division is actually on track to receive closer to more than what it received last year.

 Here is an explanation of why the city and the school division’s calculations for a projected increase differ:

 School officials are factoring in a true-up of $229,677—a true-up is money that the school division has to pay back to the city, Kelly said.  This amount is deducted from the extra $500,000 that city officials said the schools will receive.

 The school division has to pay back the $229,677 because the city advanced the schools $15,095,145, or 57 percent of its projected 2011 revenue, but ended up taking in less money. 

This means the 57 percent must be calculated from a new, smaller base number.  As a result, the city actually owes the school system only $14,865,468, hence the payback or true-up of $229,677.

 School system officials said they have to deduct more money from the projected increase because of a $114,972 increase in debt service, approved by the city.

 This leaves them with a projected $194,168, Kelly said.

 If the city votes to impose a 2-cents tax levy for its own debt service then that would mean the schools will receive $126,000 less because that’s money not shared with the schools, leaving the division with only $68,168 for schools operations.

 Manassas Park City Councilman Brian Leeper said if the city doesn’t do the two-cents levy then they are going to have to cut the $126,000 from somewhere else in the budget so the city’s debts can be paid.

 The two-cent levy will be discussed Tuesday at the city council’s work session.  The city will adopt its budget for year 2012 on May 17.

 During the meeting, city councilman Preston Banks asked if the fact that Manassas Park High and Manassas Park Elementary schools didn’t make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) would affect the division’s funding. 

 He asked because its important for the council to understand as they consider the two-cents tax levy, Banks said.

 Because it didn’t make ADP, Manassas Park Elementary is in the “school to watch” category, but that doesn’t affect state funding, McDade said Tuesday.  The state gives the divison about $4,500 per child, Kelly said.

 If it doesn't make it this year it will be put in the “improvement” category, the superintendent said.

 There may be dollars attached to that because the school division will have to look for supplemental services to educate those children, McDade said.

This could mean an significant increase in financial obligation, he told council.

There could be sanctions, McDade said.  For example, the school division may have give children the option to attend schools outside Manassas Park and pay for transportation. 

State records indicate that there are 3,056 students in the division.

 The division’s 2012 budget is based on a student population of 2,800, Kelly said.

 The 2011 budget was built on 2,630, but was later increased to 2,775 after new enrollment, she said.