Henrico County schools officials crafted a fiscal 2013 budget that is balanced, but Superintendent Patrick J. Russo does not like all the steps taken to do so.
Russo said the proposed $504.5 million spending plan is "artificially balanced" because of the use of nearly $11.1 million in one-time funds to help make up a $26.3 million shortfall to the $404.1 million general fund.
Ultimately, it came down to protecting employees, Russo said. He referred to the spending plan as a "crisis budget."
Using one-time funding sources "goes against every fiscal sense of what I know and believe," he said. "We know the strength of this school division is the people who work here, and we have no other choice but to use it."
The proposal, which would take effect July 1, was unveiled to the School Board on Thursday in a lightly attended meeting.
According to the proposal, no employees would lose jobs, but 58.1 full-time equivalent positions are proposed to be eliminated for a savings of $3.3 million. Reductions are expected to be achieved through attrition.
The pupil-teacher ratio is proposed to increase by .25 to accommodate cutting 28.5 instructional positions.
To prevent layoffs, the district proposed using $5.5 million in federal stimulus funds and $5.6 million in funding reserves from the current fiscal year toward next year's shortfall.
If the proposed cuts are imposed, it would mean 247 positions will have been eliminated — all through attrition — in a three-year period.
"All of us do recognize that no one is losing their jobs, (but) through attrition … staff is taking on extra work, and we appreciate that," said Tuckahoe District representative Lisa A. Marshall.
The budget proposal is a slight increase — less than one-half percent — from the current $502.6 total budget that includes a $403.8 general fund.
The shortfall is heavily attributed to rate increases associated with the Virginia Retirement System and health care. If approved, Henrico will cover the $13.4 million in VRS costs and $4.8 million in rising insurance costs and not pass on the increases to employees.
The district also proposes to change its retirement program. Currently, retirees receive 22 percent of their final salary to work 24 days. The budget proposes to save $1.6 million by scaling back the pay to 16 percent for 20 days of work.
The district is also proposing to implement recommendations of a transportation efficiency review that would save $2.03 million.
Among the proposed changes is standardizing all contracts for bus drivers and assistants to a six-hour, 183-day contract. Affected employees would maintain benefits, and a step-pay increase is proposed to offset, somewhat, any reductions in pay.
Currently, some transportation employee contracts are for eight hours and 202 days, while others are for seven hours and 186 days. The longer contract is based on seniority.
Also, drivers receive compensation for standby hours even if no work is performed. The average scheduled workday is 5.13 hours for drivers, said Ed Buzzelli, assistant superintendent of operations.
"It'll still allow opportunities for employees who do want to work more than six hours to do that, and also for people that don't want to work those hours, will be compensated for what they've actually worked," he said.
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