Board of Supervisors

Virginia:

AT A CONTINUED MEETING of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors at 6:00 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Room located in the Nelson County Courthouse.

Present:
Allen M. Hale, East District Supervisor – East District
Constance Brennan, Central District Supervisor – Chair
Thomas H. Bruguiere, Jr. West District Supervisor
Joe Dan Johnson, South District Supervisor – Vice Chair
Thomas D. Harvey, North District Supervisor
Stephen A. Carter, County Administrator
Candice W. McGarry, Administrative Assistant/Deputy Clerk
Debra K. McCann, Director of Finance and Human Resources
Nelson County School Board Members: Jane Bibb, Amy Snapp, Margaret Claire, and             Mary Cunningham
Kathy Hughes, School Board Clerk
Roger Collins, School Division Superintendent
Shannon Irvin, School Division Assistant Superintendent of Finance and HR
JoAnn Wagner, School Division Assistant Superintendent of Instruction

Absent:    David Parr, Nelson County School Board

I.    Call to Order

Ms. Brennan called the meeting to order at 6:10 pm, with all Supervisors present to establish a quorum.
Ms. Jane Bibb, School Board Chair also called their meeting to order and noted that all were present except for Mr. David Parr, who had a work meeting conflict. Members of both Boards then introduced themselves in order to welcome the three (3) new School Board members.

II.    Joint Meeting with the Nelson County School Board

Ms. Jane Bibb began the discussion acknowledging the current state of the budget as being a deficit situation; noting that the School Board has worked hard to provide for the children. Board of Supervisors members were in agreement that it would be a hard budgetary year, they wanted to work together with the School Board to make cuts where necessary on both the School and County side; doing as much as possible to avoid laying off personnel and sharing the common goal of doing what was best.

Mr. Johnson noted that raising taxes was an option, but the County could only do so much. He noted it would be hard not to cut personnel on the School side when it comprises 80% of the School’s budget; however layoffs could make things worse for the local economy.

Mr. Bruguiere stated that he thought that there were ways to make cuts in the School’s budget without losing academic integrity. He recommended that they not consider taking away sports programs which were important in rural areas; but to explore drawing on parents to volunteer their time to coach or act as an aid in the classroom. He asked that the School Board look at everything once and noted that they will look at the County side and some things will have to go; citing non-profit funding as an example.

Ms. Bibb reported that they have been including staff from all schools in meetings and have asked for their input and has felt positive about this.  She noted that she felt certain that cutting staff was positively going to happen and that they would rearrange things as best they could for the children.

Ms. Shannon Irvin stated that they could keep the cuts away from the classroom as much as possible, but that most support staff are Nelson residents and there will be residual costs from having to pay unemployment when people are laid off.

Mr. Carter introduced County staff, Debbie McCann and Candy McGarry in attendance and noted that the County is faced with significant State funding reductions for education and constitutional offices and County revenues were remaining static or declining some. He noted these conditions could be present for a while and the County will do the best it can for education.

The possibility of reducing employee compensation was briefly discussed, with Ms. Bibb noting that the School Board had discussed this briefly but they also were cognizant that level salaries and increasing employee benefit costs equated to a reduction in pay.

Mr. Bruguiere suggested that the School Board consider lowering the base salary for incoming teachers, since there will be a surplus of teachers looking for jobs. Mr. Johnson noted that teaching positions equate to about $50,000 each including benefits, so it would take ten (10) teaching positions to make up approximately $500,000. Ms. Bibb noted that if the retiring teachers are at the top of the salary scale, then they can rearrange things to save money.  She noted also that retainage is more of an issue than hiring.

Ms. Brennan questioned again whether it would be more popular to take a pay cut than to lose jobs. She also suggested looking at bus routes to save money and looking at joint efforts for the Schools and County, such as joint procurement.

Mr. Johnson noted that there were several legislative bills in limbo that would affect the schools, such as one doing away with the mandatory planning period for secondary school teachers and one lengthening the recommended replacement schedule for buses from twelve (12) to fifteen (15) years.

Mr. Harvey stated that they needed get the School Board a budget number as soon as possible, so that they could do something, noting that next year could be much worse.

Members then discussed how far apart the Legislative Houses were on the budget issues and Ms. Brennan suggested that they call the Legislators and have parents call as well.

Mr. Harvey stated his opposition to a tax increase and Ms. Brennan stated that she supported restructuring the tax system in the County, which was too heavily reliant upon property taxes. School Board members asked about other sources of revenue that could be explored and it was noted that the Meals and Lodging tax had been a good thing and other fees included the Business License Fee and the Vehicle License Fee.

Members also discussed raising school and activity related fees, with it being noted that this would be tough given that over half of the student population is getting free or reduced lunch.
In conclusion, Mr. Harvey noted that the Board will not go over lines of the School Board’s budget, will likely provide them with a lump sum number; and may make suggestions. Mr. Bruguiere then requested that Ms. Hughes provide the Board of Supervisors with email addresses for all of the School Board members.

III.    Adjournment

At 6:55 PM, Mr. Johnson moved to adjourn and Mr. Harvey seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, Supervisors voted unanimously by voice vote to approve the motion and the meeting adjourned.