Proposed Henrico capital budget questioned by School Board

For the first time in recent memory, the Henrico County School Board is publicly questioning County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett's proposed capital budget.

The School Board was not consulted before Hazelett announced that planning and construction funds for a variety of projects in schools and other county agencies would be eliminated this year, said Chairman John W. Montgomery Jr. of Varina District.

Capital-improvement projects in the schools' 2009-10 budget include money for a new high school in Varina District -- the construction of which was a major plank when Montgomery ran for office -- as well as construction and renovation projects at schools across the county.

"The School Board's CIP[capital-improvement plan] reflects careful review and analysis of the real needs of the school system," Montgomery said. "There is no fluff in the CIP budget."

The School Board will meet next week to discuss ways to persuade the Board of Supervisors to fund what the School Board sought, Montgomery said. The School Board and the supervisors will meet March 19 to discuss the budget and the capital-improvement program.

Montgomery sent a message to constituents, encouraging them to call Hazelett and to attend the supervisors' public hearing April 14.

"I'm an advocate for having open and frank public discussions," Montgomery said. "Active citizen participation is always a good thing."

The School Board submitted a five-year capital-improvement proposal to the county last fall, with funding requests totaling nearly $600 million.

It opted to make the CIP document a list of most-needed projects, in hopes the county would find the funding. The School Board added more than $20 million to a draft budget it had been crafting for months, including pushing up opening the new high school and adding classrooms to six elementary schools.

The county does not have money for new projects, Hazelett said, and any funding found needs to finish existing projects.

"If I followed their recommendations, I'd have to come up with $85 million, and I can't do that the way the economy is going," Hazelett said.

Schools will receive funding for some "shovel-ready" projects under the federal stimulus package, Montgomery said, but the county still would need to provide additional funds.

Stimulus money -- it's not yet known how much -- will target projects including renovations at Varina High and Brookland Middle schools; construction of a career and technical education center at a new high school opening in 2010; and building field houses at Deep Run and Tucker high schools.

Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or .