Dinwiddie superintendent says schools won’t have to lay off any teachers

DINWIDDIE -- Even with federal stimulus money included in a proposed budget for 2009-2010, as many as 44 positions in the Dinwiddie County school system could be eliminated.

School Superintendent Charles Maranzano Jr. said of those job cuts, 17 teaching positions would be eliminated through "attrition, retirement and the non-renewal process. . . . We don't have to dismiss anyone to accomplish that."

Maranzano briefly discussed the school system's $53.1 million budget during a public hearing last night. The projected budget is $2.5 million less than that of the current school year and does not include pay raises or pay cuts.

Before including funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, as many as 67 positions -- including 26 teaching positions -- could have been cut. According to a state budget summary released last month, Dinwiddie will get an estimated $1.89 million in stimulus funds for direct aid to public education.

In the school system's proposed budget, 17 custodians at two Dinwiddie schools would be laid off if the system decides to contract custodial services to an outside agency. The switch to a commercial service would save the system about $250,000.

Board member Legert Hamilton expressed reservations about entering a contract with commercial cleaning company Service Solutions to clean Dinwiddie Middle School and Dinwiddie Junior High School.

Hamilton said the board doesn't know that using Service Solutions to clean the schools will result in savings.

"It's a projection; we don't know for certain that we will," Hamilton said. "Give them a chance to prove to us if they can save us money."

The Knoxville, Tenn.-based cleaning company and the Dinwiddie school system are currently in a contract to clean Sutherland Elementary and Dinwiddie High schools.

Christie Fleming, schools director of finance, said the cleaning company has told the school system that they'll "hire on anyone who wishes to take employment with them."

Maranzano said some areas of the system's budget are seeing an increase from the current year, including the money for in-school and after-school remediation.

The school system's budget will be adopted May 26, Fleming said.

Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or .