GILES COUNTY (WSLS 10) - Southwest Virginia school leaders are pushing for more money from the commonwealth.
A group of administrators made a special trip to the state capitol to meet with legislators about the financial struggles public schools in Region 7 face.
Region 7 includes the counties of Giles, Pulaski, Carroll, Bland and the city of Radford, among others.
Governor Terry McAuliffe announced at the end of 2016 that money promised for teacher raises across the state, along with all state employees, didn't come through due to a budget shortfall.
Now, rural school districts are struggling to provide competitive teacher salaries.
School leaders at Giles County say their school districts are being ignored when it comes to funding. But, the ability to offer a competitive salary for teachers is really only the beginning of funding woes for southwest communities.
Dr. Terry Arbogast, Giles County School Superintendent, said out of 132 school districts in the state, his district is the 15th worst when it comes to ranking the starting salaries of teachers.
Out of the region that includes 11 districts, Giles ranks ninth. Arbogast says it would take $930,000 a year more to bump that up to “B-portion” of that number.
Arbogast, along with school board members, say it's time for change. They want better for their teachers and their students.
Like many rural school districts in southwest Virginia, Giles County is forced to do more with less.
"We've got a great school system here, but we do it on a shoe-string budget,” said Giles County School Board Chairman Eric Gentry.
Because of a lower population, rural schools, like Giles, receive less tax revenue than larger counties and cities like Roanoke. Although members say the county does a good job in providing money for schools where they can, it isn’t enough to cover the total cost.
Less local funding available means more reliance on state funding; money that in recent years hasn't come through for Southwest Virginia.
"I believe we are forgotten. I believe the northern Virginia counties, whether we like it or not, has the power. The majority of votes cast are from the northern part of the state," Gentry said.
Feeling ignored for too long, school board leaders met with state legislators about money woes Southwest Virginia school districts face.
"We were able to get a captive audience of the folks who need to hear our story,” said School Board member Stevie Steel. “When somebody can put a face with a story, it's harder for them to say 'no' when it's time to vote."
Little state funding translates to low starting teacher salaries. Giles County has one of the lowest starting pay rates for teachers in the state.
"It's frustrating because we hate to lose good people, good teachers because they want to be there, because they want to work with the kids, educate the kids and give back to the community. That does become frustrating,” Arbogast said.
Arbogast says since 2010 they've lost $2.1 million in state funding; however, their operating costs have gone up $1.1 million in that same time period.
"That's significant,” Arbogast said. He says he believes in the teachers in the school district and wants to give them more of an incentive to stay in the county.
Non-competitive salaries have made recruiting and retaining teachers a challenge, especially when neighboring school districts offer better pay.
Steele points out that yet another kink is added into the mix; ADM or “Average Daily Membership.”
Steele explains that funding is based on school population. Rural counties don’t fare well in that area. Since 2009, Region 7 has lost more than 5,000 students.
Each student lost translates to $5,000 less received from the state.
Budgets are created at the end of each year for the following year. Included in that budget is a projected school population. If that school population falls below what was budgeted for, the school system will in turn owe money from their budget back to the state because they had fewer students than first estimated.
“It’s impossible,” Steele said. "We are running a $27 million business. That's what we are doing. Our business is educating kids and getting them ready for the real world. But you can not run a business with your budget fluctuating constantly through the year."
If the money isn't there, school board leaders say staffing and programming is the first to go, but achievement expectations remain just as high.
Despite the state not coming through on promised money for teacher raises, Giles County, like many other school districts, already invested its own money for a 1 percent raise. That only met the expectation halfway, but has already put a strain on the schools budget.
Despite that raise, school leaders say that's not enough.
Although many funding concerns remain, it’s important to note that all Giles County Schools are fully accredited. Now, they hope state legislators will begin to take notice and reward the hard work of educators and students that they say deserve better than what is being given.