Vote expected on plan that could shut Spotsylvania County Public School libraries, cut staff
Spotsylvania County Public Schools' late night vote on budget cuts
A school budget battle in one local district that at one point even had libraries on the chopping block. The school board in Spotsylvania County backing off from that proposal but the budget still has plenty of parents concerned. FOX 5's Jacqueline Matter reports from Fredericksburg as this meeting continues late into the night.
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. - A controversial school budget vote is expected in Spotsylvania County that could shut down school libraries and cut staff.
Superintendent Mark Taylor caused a huge uproar in March when he said a $21 million proposed budget shortfall could mean cuts like the closing of school libraries or eliminating some programs for high achieving students.
According to Taylor, the Virginia General Assembly replaced the Governor’s proposed budget with HB1400 called the "Skinny Budget" which slashes Virginia School divisions.
Spotsylvania Co. Public Schools considers eliminating libraries and cutting jobs
A Spotsylvania School Board meeting is just getting started. One that will decide the future of schools, including jobs and libraries. FOX 5 reporter, Nana-Sentuo Bonsu is in Fredericksburg with what we can expect from Monday night's meeting.
The County Board of Supervisors responded by changing how it gives the school system its money with the goal of being able to maintain some control over where money is spent or cut.
The deficit could've led to the elimination of school libraries and the laying off of more than 100 staff members. But Monday night's proposal did not include that idea.
The school board in Spotsylvania County backed off from that proposal but the budget still has plenty of parents concerned with several other actions that are now on the line.
Programs for students with special needs could take a big hit with layoffs of most of the special education support staff and reducing half of their assistants and speech pathologists.
Other cuts across the district include reducing nursing staff, custodians, psychologists, and social workers.
Programs for accelerated students also getting slashed with a delay in updated AP textbooks and literacy materials, as well as delaying middle school Science and English curricula.
Removing libraries from all schools was previously recommended by the superintendent.
"The majority of the community wants fully funded schools but cutting important programs like the governor’s school, libraries, IB Baccalaureate programs is unnecessary," said Melissa Brace, the vice president of the Spotsylvania Education Association. "If they do go forward with some of these cuts, the blame solely lies on the school board majority and Mark Taylor. The board of supervisors has done their job. Now, it’s time for our school board to do theirs."
"This is not a partisan issue," said parent Jenn Coolidge. "The fact that education has become partisan is heartbreaking. This is not a left thing, a right thing, a middle thing, this is about children."
We do know that the Board of Supervisors could vote to fund the school in a different way by dishing out the money into different categories instead of handing it over all at once.
This would allow them to have a bit more control over where money is spent or cut.
We are still waiting on a vote and the school board has voiced they do plan to finalize that budget Monday night.
The next school board meeting is May 8 and the budget does have to be approved by that date.