Anitha Firebaugh
Contributing writer
Cutting expenses and crossing fingers for a little more money in the budget in fiscal year 2024 was one of the many topics at the Craig County School Board meeting on Feb. 13. The meeting was held at the school campus auditorium and is available to view online.
The School Board held a public hearing on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, but no one from the public spoke. The amount of the new school budget was not discussed during the meeting.
The school system last year had a $7.8 million budget, with the county paying approximately $1.8 million of that, Superintendent Dwayne Huff said at the school board meeting. The county has funded only basic needs for the last five years, and Huff said that an additional $270,000 in local funding would bring in about $600,000 more in state dollars.
As part of the budget discussion, the school board heard a presentation from Schneider Electric in Richmond. A company representative stated that Craig County Schools spend approximately $200,000 annually on water, electricity, and fuel oil.
The company proposed an energy savings program and forecast savings of between 15 and 30 percent of the amount the schools currently spend on energy items if the program were implemented.
One of the major expenses is fuel oil. The Board briefly discussed converting to propane and noted the two boiler systems in the schools need to be replaced.
Other energy-saving items the company would utilize include LED lighting, motion sensors, low flow water systems, and solar options.
The company representative said the schools could see a $450,000 to $750,000 savings over a 15-year period.
Huff said that in addition to the proposed energy savings, he already has cancelled most cell phones for personnel, saving approximately $800 a month. He told the board members that he had identified approximately 25 software programs, some purchased in previous years with federal Covid funding, which could be “axed,” for a savings of approximately $115,000.
He has also initiated a health insurance review and has found a different company to service the copying machines for less money.
However, the schools do have needs. He cited capital improvement projects that included the purchase of two new school buses plus some minivans. The boiler replacements at the school campus could cost as much as $500,000, he said.
Other CIP items the school board would like to see include new roofing on parts of the school campus, construction of a new school bus garage, which could cost approximately $1.2 million, and teacher raises.
Huff noted that with the new reassessment, the county-wide value increase of taxable real estate went up about 39 percent. While he expects the Board of Supervisors to cut the tax rate from 63 cents per $100 value to equalize the tax rate, “now is a good time for the county to raise additional revenue without it being a huge burden to the tax payers,” he said. “I understand we need to give some relief there, but also it’s a good opportunity to bring our school budget up. We’ve been locked in at about $1.8 million [from the county] for about 5 years. With inflation we’ve actually been losing money.”
Huff also noted that the school systems daily attendance has dropped to 448. The school had budgeted for daily attendance of 450. State funding depends on daily attendance numbers.
The school board is scheduled to hold a joint meeting with the supervisors on April 4 about the budget.
In other matters, the school board learned that most of the county’s students qualify to receive free breakfast and lunch. The school board also discussed the computer use policy, noting that “questionable accidents” could be costly. Huff suggested a policy change that ensured parents know that they are responsible for computers assigned to their children so that the schools could recoup the cost of the computer from the parents if necessary. He also suggested that children be assigned a computer in the ninth grade and that it be given to them upon graduation, in hopes that the laptops might fare better if the students thought they would eventually own it. The school board members agreed to review the issue at a later date.
The school board also heard from the After Prom committee and agreed to the use of school buses for the event.
Additionally, the school board approved a modest increase in pay rates for substitute teachers. “Since I started in September I don’t think we’ve had one day where we have had every absence covered,” Huff said. The school system needs more substitute teachers, he added.
The school board members also discussed the school’s “no hat” policy. Students are allowed to wear hats on special occasions, such as an FFA day where students can pay to wear their hats that day. It is school policy that no hoodies or other head gear be worn during school hours.
“It’s all about character,” Huff said. He wants the schools to teach students to respect those around them and themselves. “If we win that battle,” he said, “the academics will take care of themselves.”
