According to Zach Reid’s article in today’s Richmond
Times-Dispatch1,
the Richmond School Board is seeking the help of the citizens in setting its
priorities in formulating the budget for operating Richmond Public Schools (RPS)
for the fiscal year 2014-15. The board will seek input using surveys both in
writing and on the web. The input received will be “vetted” at a special budget
meeting on November 23.
This maven congratulates the board on this approach. In
providing services, it is always wise for an enterprise to seek the views both
of its customers (families of RPS students) and its owners (the taxpayers of
Richmond). On an issue as important as the future of our children we all should
cooperate by participating in the budget survey.
The TD article also states that the RPS staff has already
been doing its homework and has created a list of needs of the school system
and has prioritized them. This certainly will help the board when it gets into
the deliberative part of formulating the budget. But, it will also help the
Interim Superintendent and the board comply with a provision of state law,
which has not been followed in the recent past.
Section 22.1-92 of the Code of Virginia provides:
A. It shall be
the duty of each division superintendent to prepare, with the approval of the
school board, and submit to the governing body or bodies appropriating funds
for the school division, by [April 1] the estimate of the amount of money
deemed to be needed during the next fiscal year for the support of the public
schools of the school division. The estimate shall set up the amount of money
deemed to be needed for each major classification prescribed by the Board of
Education and such other headings or items as may be necessary.
(The classifications prescribed by the state Board of
Education are (i) instruction, (ii) administration, attendance and health,
(iii) pupil transportation, (iv) operation and maintenance, (v) school food
services and other noninstructional operations, (vi) facilities, (vii) debt and
fund transfers, (viii) technology, and (ix) contingency reserves. (Virginia
Code section 22.1-115)). This mandate, which is not inconsistent with any
provision of the Richmond city charter, allows both the governing body (the
City Council) and the citizens to know at the beginning of budget preparation
what the superintendent and board estimate they need to run the school system. The
only thing in the state statute that is problematic is the deadline for
submission of the statement. In light of the budget schedule set out in the
Richmond city charter, it would make more sense for the superintendent to submit
the estimate to the City Council no later than the middle of January.
Therefore, I recommend that the Richmond School Board direct
the Interim Superintendent to begin working on the mandated estimate, so that
it will be ready to be submitted to the City Council by January 15, 2014.
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