CONTACT Tim Bullis
Director, Community Relations
748-1433
Jan. 27, 2009

Superintendent to present FY 2010 budget proposal

Superintendent Marcus Newsome will present his proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 during tonight’s School Board meeting.

The proposed budget is $52 million less than the FY 2009 approved budget because Chesterfield schools will receive $29.7 million less from the state, $10.8 million less from Chesterfield County government and $2.5 million less in other revenue and must pay $9.3 million of required additional expenses for health insurance costs, utilities, etc.

“To say this is the most difficult budget process I have overseen as a superintendent would be a dramatic understatement,” Dr. Newsome said.

The proposed operating budget for FY 2010 is $551.5 million. That is less than the school system spent in 2007, even though Chesterfield now has nearly 1,000 more students to educate and four more schools to operate. “The budget cuts will affect every student and every staff member,” Dr. Newsome said.

The proposed budget eliminates 525 jobs. These are positions — not necessarily people. School officials are hopeful that the number of people displaced will be half of that number, because some of the positions are currently unfilled and because of natural attrition.

“The Chesterfield community has long understood and benefited from the investment in public education, which many describe as the economic engine that drives the county,” said the superintendent, adding that recent external audits have documented Chesterfield County Public Schools as one of the most cost-efficient school divisions in Virginia:

• Administrative costs for the school system are consistently lower than the state average.
• Chesterfield is the largest school division in Virginia with all of its schools fully accredited, yet it ranks near the bottom of Virginia’s 132 school divisions in terms of per-pupil spending.

“Some have said these funding cuts can be taken care of by cutting administrative costs and positions. That is simply not true. Wiping out the entire Chesterfield schools administration would still require the system to cut the budget by another 5 percent,” Dr. Newsome said.

Here is an overview of the reductions:
Delay bus, vehicle and textbook replacement                                               $9,203,000              17.6%
Revise central accounts*                                                                             $4,568,650                8.7%
* Reduce allowable transfer to grants, comprehensive services, reduce fund balance
Non-instructional staffing                                   186.5 positions                $11,939,250              22.8%
Non-classroom programs                                                                           $5,987,300              11.5%
Instructional staffing                                           338.8 positions                $15,724,600              30.1%
Classroom resources                                                                                  $1,358,400                2.6%
Two-day furlough for every employee                                                         $3,483,800                6.7%
Total                                                                 525.3 positions                $52,265,000            100.0%

“Teaching and student learning are our core responsibilities. We must remain focused on those goals. Though our services will be affected, our students will continue to learn and achieve, and our community will continue to benefit from our production of high-quality citizens,” Dr. Newsome said.

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