Chesterfield County School Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome said today his school system might have to cut 500 positions next year to deal with a projected $52 million budget shortfall.
Newsome's remarks came at a meeting of the Virginia Association of State Superintendents at the Downtown Richmond Marriott.
The superintendents presented a unified front this morning in speaking out against cuts to state education funding in Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's proposed budget.
Kaine's proposal calls for cutting $340 million for non-teaching school support staff and eliminating $27.5 million in state school construction grants.
Most painted a dire picture for the upcoming school year, but not Superintendent Fred Morton IV of Henrico.
He said his county is growing by about 500 students next year "so that's helped us gain some added resources while we have about $15 million in cuts.
"Basically, our budget will be status quo -- no raises, our class sizes will go up a little bit. We feel fortunate to be in Henrico with the support we've got right now, but we also know, if this continues over a couple of years, I think the impact on the children of the state of Virginia is going to be devastating."
-- Jeremy Slayton
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