New school board chair Beth Hardy said last week the board will present a balanced budget to the board of supervisors when it finishes its work January 31, the projected date for approval of the schools budget.

“We are preparing a budget that will eliminate this,” said Hardy after last week’s four-hour meeting, referring to the more than $500,000 gap between projected revenue and expenditures.

Toward that end the board adopted a partial reorganization chart for schools administration that adds a second assistant school superintendent for operations but eliminates the directors of secondary and elementary education positions.

The budget presentation by Goochland Superintendent of Schools Linda Underwood also eliminates one assistant principal position.

“The drive behind the reorganization is to streamline administration and achieve efficiencies,” said Hardy, who added that the intent is to show the board is investing in instruction and cutting administrative costs.

Changes continued to be apparent under the new board.

While the members were discussing business, John Hendron and Bea Cantor were video taping and live streaming the meeting to the schools Web site for the first time.

And the board announced it had ended its 12-year long relationship with attorney Andrea Erard and had retained the firm ReedSmith for its future legal needs.

District 2 member W. Kevin Hazzard made the presentation on the new organizational chart.

“We haven’t been able to achieve as much cost savings as we wanted,” he told the audience, adding that the board wants input from the public.

That importance is clearly indicated by the new chart, which places Goochland citizens at the top, followed by the board and then the superintendent.

Regional salary reviews are underway, said Hazzard, along with a review of health insurance costs.

In other action items, the board consolidated its hiring policies by adopting one overall policy and eliminating four others.

In information items the board heard presentations on the schools plan for dealing with student allergies, in light of the recent death of a Chesterfield County student from a peanut allergy reaction.

Underwood’s budget presentation mirrored the previous week’s with more detail added. The bottom line remained virtually the same, with a $542,452 gap between expected revenue and projected expenditures. The budget presentation assumes adding a library and media specialist at Goochland High School, eliminating a library aide, increasing days for instructional aides to 194 and eliminating the parking lot attendant position.

The superintendent once again listed possibilities for reducing expenditures, including the option of eliminating contributions by the schools toward health insurance for employees’ families. This option could save an estimated $450,000, said Underwood.

Reducing the number of school days is still under consideration, with an estimated $97,000 savings achieved for each day cut from the instructional calendar.

Contracting out most custodial work could save somewhere between $171,000 and $191,000, said Underwood.

Expenditures by various departments were outlined once again, with increases in several. Transportation would rise by $35,000, Administration and Attendance and Health by almost $55,000. Maintenance increases by $280,000, partly due to shifting head custodians from grant funds to operating and Instruction by $566,000, expenditure projections being based on eliminating the two furlough days and the state mandated $756,000 increase in Virginia Retirement Services costs to the school system.

A number of additional budget requests not included in the current figures were also listed, totalling approximately another possible $500,000 in expenditures.

The budget presentation is available online at http://www.glnd.k12.va.us/images/uploads/1-10-12_Budget_fy13_Presentation.pdf.

The new organization chart is also available at http://www.glnd.k12.va.us/images/uploads/1-10-12_Organizational_Chart.pdf.

The board is scheduled to meet Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at GHS for a special workshop meeting with increased public participation to continue the budget discussion.

According to Hardy, speakers will not have to sign up in advance but will be asked to state their name, address and district. They will address their comments or questions to the chair and be allowed up to five minutes for the exchange of ideas. If time allows speakers may return to the podium if everyone has had a chance to speak in the two hour period allotted to the workshop.