Revenues - Prince William County Public Schools

• The increasing of fees for student parking (from $50 to $100) and driver
education (from $225 to $275) and the implementation of a new fee for
participation in high school sports of $50 per sport. However, I am pleased
to announce that there will be no increase in our school lunch prices.
• The elimination of funding for buses and vehicles and a reduction of
customer service staff in the Office of Transportation Services; and
• The reduction of staffing for kindergarten teacher assistants, providing one
full-time assistant for every class of 25 students or more and one full-time
assistant for every two classes of less than 25 students. Should the
President’s proposed federal economic stimulus package for education be
approved, I would propose using these funds for additional kindergarten
teaching assistants in Title I schools.
Some of the pain of these reductions for next year can be offset by the School Board’s
approval to use one-time, year-end money from the 2008-09 budget. However, it is not
fiscally responsible to use year-end money to fund recurring expenses like pay raises.
Therefore, $18.6 million available for this purpose would be used to fund 15 replacement
buses, additional technology refresh expenses, the completion of the iNet infrastructure
and wireless set-up, some facilities renewal projects, Capital Improvement Plan projects
at Rippon and Godwin Middle Schools, HVAC energy upgrades, and some additional
SmartBoards for schools. Again, these are necessary one-time items that are not a part of
next year’s operating budget.
As part of the budget planning process, I requested employees to share their ideas for
saving money. I have personally read every employee suggestion. The proposed budget
includes many reductions that were a direct result of this process, including turning the
power off on all electronic devices, such as TVs, staplers, pencil sharpeners, computers,
printers, and monitors when not in use to save on utility costs, and switching to electronic
pay stubs for most employees to save on paper, printing, and postage costs. I truly
appreciate the ideas shared by our staff – this process has made it clear that our
employees understand the economic dilemma we face and are trying to help.
However, it is important to remember that the total revenue for next year decreases by
$53 million, and as a result of necessary increases, like the ones associated with having
additional students, expenditures needed to be reduced by $94 million to balance the
budget. Despite this challenge, the proposed 2009-10 spending plan was developed
around the Board of County Supervisors’ preliminary budget guidance and the revenuesharing
agreement with our county, the Governor’s budget proposal, and our Strategic
Plan goals. This proposal is a balanced budget, with an operating fund of $744,531,581,
which includes approximately 1,423 additional students.
As Superintendent of Schools, you have my continued pledge that, together with our
dedicated employees, we will remain focused on doing what is in the best interest of the
74,744 students we expect to enroll for the 2009-10 school year.
Sincerely,
Dr. Steven L. Walts
Superintendent of Schools