Richmond, Chesterfield schools face cuts as Va. recalculates index
The hits keep coming for Virginia's financially strapped school systems.
The Virginia Department of Education recently recalculated the composite index for the 2010 and 2011 school years, which determines how much money each school system receives annually from the state.
For most of the 134 school systems, the news isn't good.
Their indexes increased, which means they will have to rely more heavily on their equally cash-strapped local governments for money for the next two school years.
Local numbers show that Richmond and Chesterfield County could be hit the hardest.
Richmond schools spokeswoman Felicia Cosby said the city is looking at $9 million less in potential state funding, based on its new index. She said school officials are beginning discussions with city administration and City Council staff members about how to deal with the shortfall. This year's $260 million budget for Richmond's schools includes roughly $70.2 million in state money.
Additionally, Chesterfield school officials are looking at a $4 million loss, said schools spokesman Shawn Smith. Of the current year's $571 million operating budget, more than 50 percent comes from the state.
Indexes went up not only for Richmond and Chesterfield, but also for Petersburg and Henrico and Hanover counties. Henrico could lose about $450,000. Hanover could lose about $900,000, and Petersburg, $800,000.
The composite index is based on an ability-to-pay system and is calculated based on each locality's daily average attendance and overall student enrollment, real estate values and retail sales taxes.
This newest index is based on data from 2007. The higher the index, the more wealthy the locality and therefore, the less state money the school system receives
To add to the tension of school budget planning, school officials are waiting to see how the state will re-benchmark Virginia's Standards of Quality.
The standards outline the basic requirements for an education in Virginia. They determine everything from the number of teachers and principals a school needs to graduation requirements.
The state then gives money to school systems to help fund their needs. Currently, the state funds about 55 percent of the standards.
The composite index is one factor that contributes to re-benchmarking the standards.
In a budget meeting last week with county leaders, Hanover School Superintendent Stewart D. Roberson called the combination of a weak economy, smaller student enrollment, no stimulus money and now a higher composite index "the perfect storm."
Because public school systems and governments lag behind the private sector when it comes to economic changes, 18 months from now, "we'll be making some very difficult choices," he said.
The state notified school systems about their new index numbers this month. School officials in the region say they will be reviewing the impact of the index over the next few months as they work out their budgets for next year.
Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or
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Reader Reactions
It appears that the only way for Chesterfield to get out of this mess is to raise cash proffers to offset what it cost the taxpayers. Builders have the time to influence county administrators but now it comes home for making the wrong decisions and listening to the builders.
“the home itself and its residents generate twice as much revenue over its average 60-year life than the county needs to maintain services for that home.“
*****
This is nonsense, especially as applied to the low-density sprawl development Chesterfield has pursued for the last few decades. Maintaining services for all that tract housing is bankrupting the county.
MikeyT, you don’t fool me. That’s complete BS. Builders will build anywhere they can make their profit.
When the times were booming, they were building like crazy and making their profit. Now there’s been a complete crash in the housing market. It has absolutely nothing to do with cash proffers. But you already knew that, didn’t you?
Look at all the signage and empty lots out in western Chesterfield. The builders haven’t fled the county. They’re begging for buyers, but the buyers have fled the housing market - that’s the problem.
Your manipulation of the growth statistics is also quite transparent. The reason Chesterfield has had a larger drop in growth is because they were growing faster to start with, despite those crazy cash proffers. For you to suggest that the reason that growth has slowed in Chesterfield is because they raised their cash proffer from $12,000 to $15,000 (or whatever the change was) is just shameful.
Growth has slowed everywhere. There seems to be some sort of problem with the nation’s economy. Maybe you’ve heard about it.
Regarding the revenue generation of a home - yes, each home generates quite a bit of revenue over time, directly and indirectly. Unfortunately, most of it goes to the state in the form of income taxes and sales taxes. The last time I checked, the state wasn’t offering to build any new schools in Chesterfield and was reducing the amount it pays toward operational expenses.
FSquirrels… I’ve been a builder in this area for 12 years and have spent more time with government officials negotiating proffers than you’ve spent just thinking about it. I know more builders who will no longer work in Chesterfield than you know people. The only reason they’ve left is they will no longer allow their customers to be extorted. I know more about cash proffers and everything else that goes on with development than anyone who posts here. And I’m not bragging.
I’ll bet you didn’t know that Chesterfield has not seen 3% growth—the figure considered healthy by growth experts—since 2004. People stopped moving there when the cash proffer hit $15,600, because builders began to stop building there. I’ll bet you also didn’t know that no other county in the area has seen the falloff in new residential development that Chesterfield has seen since 2006. The area average is 28%, Chesterfield’s falloff is over 60%. I’ll also bet you have no idea how much money a new home generates in county revenue over its life. Forget about the ancillary jobs and revenue that home generates; the home itself and its residents generate twice as much revenue over its average 60-year life than the county needs to maintain services for that home.
Why, then, does the county say they don’t max out their cash proffer to pay for infrastructure? Because the county only counts revenue on each home over the first 15 years of its existence. Think I’m lying? Call Allan Carmody, the county budget director. He’ll tell you. Calculate the revenue over 60 years and you’ll learn.
MikeyT, your comments are completely wrong, and I think you know it.
Cash proffers have kept families out of Chesterfield? Could have fooled me. Chesterfield has grown much faster than Henrico over the past 10-20 years and is now the third largest county in Va, only behind 2 northern Va counties.
Chesterfield also has a much higher school child per household rate than Henrico. So contrary to your post, families have been flocking to Chesterfield, notwithstanding the county’s cash proffer. And yet the County has dire budget problems. Why is that? I think you already know the answer.
The average residential development receives more in tax benefit than it pays in tax dollars - even after you factor in the tax revenue from the new dry cleaners and video store that gets built to serve the new development. On average, residential development doesn’t pay its way in Chesterfield, even with the cash proffer.
This is what happens when cash proffers are cheap to help builders/developers throw up houses and leave the tax payer holding the bag.
Now it’s time to pay the piper….For years politicians have listened to demands from citizens for more and more non-essential government supplied services and handouts. Now the ugly truth emerges. We have more government than we can afford.
As state officials wrestle with harsh cuts in the commonwealth’s budget, it’s worth pausing to note that during the past decade, the state’s budget has increased 74 percent. (This according to the latest figures from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.)
That’s a big increase—though it doesn’t exactly translate into profligacy. For one thing, inflation during the same period was 23 percent. For another, the state’s population grew from 7.1 million to 7.7 million—an 8 percent increase. That means more kids to teach, more driver’s licenses to issue, more services to render. Adjust for those factors, and the state is now spending, in constant dollars, 28 percent more per resident than it did 10 years ago.
That’s still a big hike. Some areas of the budget have benefited disproportionately. For instance, education funding has grown four times as fast as enrollment. Schools are one of several big drivers of budget growth. Parents expect costly state-of-the-art buildings and supplies. Prisons, roads, and medical services for the poor are the other big drivers.
When times were flush, lawmakers spent every penny they could. That established a baseline for spending that would prove unsustainable when the boom collapsed. Now the state is having to make sharp, painful cuts.
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-SPEN15_20091113-203407/305539/
So local funding is slashed because of the big drop in current real estate values and state funding is slashed because real estate values soared in 2007. Hmmmm, I think something is wrong with the state funding formula.
Not only will the state cut funds, but any school district that is relying on stimulus funds like it is a permanent source, will have a serious wake-up call. Cuts from the local level due to property values dropping to a realistic level from a pipe-dream level, will also make budgeting difficult.
Looks like it is time for the parents to get some hustle in their bustle and hold bake sales or other fundraisers. Organize and recruit other parents who are normally invisible. The less dependent we (parents) are on the state, local and federal governments, the better.
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