Warren County School Board approves FY2020-2021 proposed budget

On March 11, 2020, the Warren County School Board unanimously approved the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2020-2021 operating budget for Warren County Public Schools and will present it to the Warren County Board of Supervisors next week.

Still to come, however, is news from the Virginia General Assembly, which is set to vote on its budget proposal during an extended session on March 12. The final approved budget that gets signed by Gov. Ralph Northam will dictate what the state Department of Education provides for the division’s state revenue, which is based on the governor’s proposed budget with the addition of the compensation supplemental amount from the Virginia House of Delegates.

WCPS Finance Director Robert Ballentine said the compensation supplemental amount is anticipated to be $389,548 for WCPS, but he added that “we’re still going on assumptions” until there’s an approved and signed state budget.

WCPS Finance Director Robert Ballentine explains the state budget funds to the School Board. Photos and video by Mike McCool, Royal Examiner.

The approved WCPS FY2020-2021 operating budget proposal totals $62,247,344 with a total local contribution from the Warren County Board of Supervisors of $26,956,323 plus $3,070,728 from the division’s Cafeteria Fund Budget.

“This proposed budget … reflects the most immediate needs of the division as determined through numerous stakeholder and staff meetings, as well as five School Board work sessions over the last several months,” said Melody Sheppard, Interim Superintendent for Warren County Public Schools (WCPS), told members during the School Board’s special meeting on Wednesday, March 11.
Specifically, among the changes to the current budget that are proposed for the next fiscal year include full implementation of pay scale revisions for WCPS teachers, instructional assistants, and nurses, as well as a one percent step increase for other employees, Sheppard said.

Additionally, the proposed FY2020-2021 budget will absorb the cost of the rate increase for the Virginia Retirement System, and will make employee health insurance rates market competitive on two health insurance plans while also adding an employee-plus-children tier on those plans, she said.

Other changes include the addition of two English Language teachers and operating the division’s Behavior Support Specialist Program at two schools.

There also will be two special education instructional coaches hired to help certain WCPS schools attain or maintain accreditation, among other duties, and the division also wants to bring on two more instructional resource team specialists, said Sheppard.

The proposed FY2020-2021 WCPS budget also will replace five school buses via a lease-to-own agreement that would run over a five-year term.

Budget funds also will be used to replace textbooks and increase funding for the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, which has experienced higher enrollment in numerous trades classes, Sheppard said.

Melody Sheppard, Interim Superintendent for Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) discusses budget items with the School Board.

Warren County School Board Vice Chairwoman Catherine Bower motioned to approve the proposed FY 2020-2021 operating budget for submission to the Board of Supervisors, with a second from School Board member James Wells. The motion carried with a unanimous vote from School Board Chairman Arnold Williams Jr., Ralph Rinaldi, Kristen Pence, Bower, and Wells.

Sheppard said she and Ballentine will present the WCPS budget next week to the Board of Supervisors during its budget work session on Tuesday, March 17.

Watch the School Board Special meeting in this exclusive Royal Examiner video: