2 Comments Email Article Tweet This Share

The Goochland County School Board last week unanimously approved its proposed 2010-2011 budget.

School Superintendent Linda Underwood $24 million plan is almost seven percent less than the current year’s $26 million budget

But spending is still $1 million more than County Administrator Rebecca Dickson requested from the schools last fall.

Reductions include the elimination of the Tender Tots Program, the Virginia Preschool Initiative, the summer governor’s school, the literacy and mathematics specialists and at least 12 teachers.

There will be no salary increase for employees, and all staff contracted for 200 or more days will be subject to a four-day furlough.

School officials say they have done the best they can to cut costs while maintaining programs.

“With the economic reality we’re facing, there were some hard choices forced upon us,” said School Board Chairman Raymond A. Miller. “But let me be clear, any amount less than this budget will have dire consequences to our school division and county.”

Reductions include the elimination of the Tender Tots Program, the Virginia Preschool Initiative, the summer governor’s school, the literacy and mathematics specialists and at least 12 teachers.

There will be no salary increase for employees, and all staff contracted for 200 or more days will be subject to a four-day furlough.

Jody Hoskins, president of the newly-formed Goochland Education Parents Association, said that her organization does not support cuts to teachers, textbooks or programs.

“This budget is not acceptable,” said Hoskins. “We will in fact fight against this; we will go to the Board of Supervisors and ask that this budget not be accepted.”

“The cuts we’re suggesting are not in the best interests of our county, our kids,” said School Board Member Ivan O. Mattox before voting to approve the budget.

Mattox said he hoped that Goochland’s Board of Supervisors will find a way to provide more money for the schools. 

Underwood also asked the school board to pass a resolution, which was unanimously approved, to start the Reduction in Force (RIF) process.

“This is where the rubber starts hitting the road,” said Miller. “RIF is something present on everyone’s mind. The hope of administration and the board is that there will be no job loss, but it is only fair and fitting that we get the process started, so the employees will understand where they are in the process.”