A Sense Of Loss
City Schools Attempt To Cope With Possible $1.4M Cut In Funding
Posted: December 7, 2012
HARRISONBURG — A loss that could total more than $1.4 million — 35 percent of Harrisonburg City Schools’ federal funding — is a troubling possibility for the division in 2013-14, according to Superintendent Scott Kizner.
Depleted funds, due to potential cuts to Title I money, the “fiscal cliff” and the loss of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act dollars, could make the coming budget season one of the toughest the division has seen, Kizner said.
“This is the first year we’re seeing such a decline in federal dollars,” Kizner said. “We’re going into a very challenging budget season.”
Kizner gave details at Tuesday’s Harrisonburg School Board meeting about the size of the cuts and where they would be made. The city’s $58.2 million budget for 2012-13 includes nearly $4 million in federal money.
Because most federal funds pay for personnel, Kizner said, the division must receive funding from other sources to avoid eliminating jobs. Based on the average salary and benefits paid to division teachers — $57,000 — the loss would equal 25 positions.
“Now, we’re going to have to look at the local and state budget to support these positions,” Kizner said. “We know we’re going to see some additional state aid because of our enrollment, so that will soften this [blow], but there is no question this is going to be an area we’re going to have to budget for.”
The biggest single federal funding loss the division will see for 2013-14 is $800,000 in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds, commonly referred to as federal stimulus money, which helped the board balance the budget for the current fiscal year.
A $384,780 hit to the division’s Title I funding also is expected.
Title I is the federal program that provides additional funding in support of schools that meet criteria for the number of students considered to be living in poverty. The number of students eligible for free and reduced-priced lunches determines how much school divisions get for the program.
“If anything, we should be receiving more money,” said Kizner, who added that the division’s free and reduced-price lunch rate increased 2 percent between 2011-12 and 2012-13. The percentage of division children who qualify is 68 percent.
“[The division has] gone up 10 percent in the last seven years, so there is really no explanation except federal contributions are declining,” he said.
The final blow to the division, a loss of $235,000, could come if the federal government goes over the so-called “fiscal cliff” at the end of the year.
If a congressional supercommittee does not approve a deficit reduction plan before the end of the month, across-the-board budget cuts to all federally funded programs would begin in 2013 and end in 2021. Over the nine-year period, the cuts would total $1.2 trillion.
Congress could pass a short-term measure to buy more time to act beyond the December deadline.
For Harrisonburg schools, those cuts would come mainly from Title I and special education programs.
Kizner said he was looking forward to more budget information from the state.
“We’ll get a better sense if we’re not only looking at federal reductions, but what the state dollars [will address],” he said.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com esharrer@dnronline.com
Depleted funds, due to potential cuts to Title I money, the “fiscal cliff” and the loss of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act dollars, could make the coming budget season one of the toughest the division has seen, Kizner said.
“This is the first year we’re seeing such a decline in federal dollars,” Kizner said. “We’re going into a very challenging budget season.”
Kizner gave details at Tuesday’s Harrisonburg School Board meeting about the size of the cuts and where they would be made. The city’s $58.2 million budget for 2012-13 includes nearly $4 million in federal money.
Because most federal funds pay for personnel, Kizner said, the division must receive funding from other sources to avoid eliminating jobs. Based on the average salary and benefits paid to division teachers — $57,000 — the loss would equal 25 positions.
“Now, we’re going to have to look at the local and state budget to support these positions,” Kizner said. “We know we’re going to see some additional state aid because of our enrollment, so that will soften this [blow], but there is no question this is going to be an area we’re going to have to budget for.”
The biggest single federal funding loss the division will see for 2013-14 is $800,000 in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds, commonly referred to as federal stimulus money, which helped the board balance the budget for the current fiscal year.
A $384,780 hit to the division’s Title I funding also is expected.
Title I is the federal program that provides additional funding in support of schools that meet criteria for the number of students considered to be living in poverty. The number of students eligible for free and reduced-priced lunches determines how much school divisions get for the program.
“If anything, we should be receiving more money,” said Kizner, who added that the division’s free and reduced-price lunch rate increased 2 percent between 2011-12 and 2012-13. The percentage of division children who qualify is 68 percent.
“[The division has] gone up 10 percent in the last seven years, so there is really no explanation except federal contributions are declining,” he said.
The final blow to the division, a loss of $235,000, could come if the federal government goes over the so-called “fiscal cliff” at the end of the year.
If a congressional supercommittee does not approve a deficit reduction plan before the end of the month, across-the-board budget cuts to all federally funded programs would begin in 2013 and end in 2021. Over the nine-year period, the cuts would total $1.2 trillion.
Congress could pass a short-term measure to buy more time to act beyond the December deadline.
For Harrisonburg schools, those cuts would come mainly from Title I and special education programs.
Kizner said he was looking forward to more budget information from the state.
“We’ll get a better sense if we’re not only looking at federal reductions, but what the state dollars [will address],” he said.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com esharrer@dnronline.com