Chesterfield slashes key features of schools plan

The Chesterfield School Board last night unanimously approved delaying several key measures and eliminating others in its six-year strategic plan because of budget constraints.

"For the next several years, we're going to be in a mode of keeping what we have," School Board Chairman Marshall Trammell Jr. said in an interview. He was not at last night's meeting. "Some of those things that we deem necessary, we don't see the money for in the horizon any time soon."

Earlier this year, the school system was facing a $52 million budget deficit. Then $20 million in federal stimulus funds reduced some of the pain of the projected layoffs of hundreds of employees and other drastic cuts. School officials now are concerned that the federal money will run out in two years, before the economy is fully recovered.

Seven goals were removed from the plan, which had been adopted in 2007. Among them are extending the school day, offering same-sex elective courses and hiring a liaison to build partnerships between school feeder patterns and communities.

"It's very disappointing," said school Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome, who had devised the plan in 2006. "We're going to seek other avenues to support some of the initiatives," he said in an interview.

School spokesman Tim Bullis said he could not estimate the savings at this time from eliminating the key measures. So far, about one-third of the plan's actions have been completed, including starting a Chesterfield Community Academy and revising the language-arts program in elementary schools.

Among items being delayed a year or two are training personnel across curriculum in reading and writing, evaluating the impact of the school system's preschool initiatives and starting alternatives to out-of-school suspension.

"I think it's unfortunate that we have to delay or eliminate any of these items," said Lois Stanton, president of the Chesterfield Education Association.

"The reality of the budget is that we're cutting people and we're also limiting some of the services that we can provide. This is a plan for excellence in the schools, so that means that we can't get there as fast, and perhaps in some areas, we're going to be severely limited."

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or .