By Heather Michon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna County School Board presented its $18.8 million budget to the Board of Supervisors at a budget work session on Wednesday (Feb. 17).
They anticipate that the county will need to pay an estimated $788,000 more than the previous fiscal year.
Outgoing Superintendent Chuck Winkler outlined the budget, adopted by the school board at their Feb. 10 meeting. Increases over FY21 include $1 million in salary increases, the hiring of new reading and math specialists to help students regain ground lost to the pandemic closures, a remedial summer school program, and raises in substitute teacher pay to meet the increased state minimum wage. Federal and state funds will cover some but not all of the increases.
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Correspondent
Things got a bit tense between two School Board members during budget talks at Wednesday’s (Feb. 3) meeting.
As Superintendent Chuck Winkler laid out the different scenarios of raises, salary scale adjustments and step increases, Charles Rittenhouse (Cunningham) asked what Winkler recommended.
Winkler said he preferred giving staff a 2 percent raise with a minimum of $500 and no adjustments to salary scale. Which means if 2 percent of a person’s salary is less than $500, that person would get a $500 raise.
The total cost of that proposal is $765,400.
Rittenhouse noted that was about $1 million.
Winkler said the other option – the same 2 percent raise with a $500 minimum including salary scale increases – actually did come out to $1,040,900.
It’s budget time.
Just about every meeting from the first of the year until it’s finalized is filled with budget considerations: health care, staff pay, bonuses, spending priorities and district-wide needs.
This year the Fluvanna County School Board has an additional task: searching for a new superintendent. Current Superintendent Chuck Winkler will retire in June.
The Board would like to hire his replacement as soon as possible.
At Wednesday’s (Jan. 20) seminar, besides budget priorities, they discussed what they were looking for in the next superintendent.
Chair Perrie Johnson (Fork Union) said 550 people responded to a survey on superintendent qualifications.
Correspondent
Superintendent Chuck Winkler laid out the need and plans for summer school at the Fluvanna School Board meeting Wednesday (Jan. 13).
COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on student’s education: virtual school, hybrid schedules, outbreaks, quarantines, masks and distancing all make learning harder than ever.
As a result, many students are falling behind and Fluvanna plans to help them by holding summer school.
If all goes well, the last day of school will be June 11, Winkler said.
The summer session will begin June 21.
“(It will be) extremely targeted, in-person, small group and some virtual,” Winkler said. “All strategies are being worked through now.”