ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City Public Schools continued its battle to close a $16 million budget shortfall Tuesday night, as school board members reviewed additional cost-cutting options during a budget workshop. However, no there was no approving any official reductions.
What we know so far
The shortfall comes after a change in the city’s school funding formula.
In March, the board approved a preliminary $269 million budget that includes a 2% pay raise and higher health benefits. The district also announced it would eliminate 170 positions — most through existing vacancies, resignations or retirements — but 65 of those positions are currently filled.
Superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools, Verletta White, said restoring those jobs remains a priority if additional funding becomes available.
“It is a matter of budget cuts where they have lost their jobs and have disrupted their livelihoods that that would be the priority to restore positions if by some miracle we have more money than we thought we were going to have,” White said.
Options still on the table
The district’s chief financial officer outlined several remaining cost-cutting options to help close the budget gap.
Among them: reducing activity buses, which currently serve about 173 students per day, and limiting that service to Monday through Thursday during spring sports.
The district is also considering scaling back its VPI preschool program for 3-year-olds from nine classrooms to three, which would mean fewer open seats for families.
Another option under discussion is phasing out PLATO, the district’s gifted elementary school program, over two years so current students can finish. Board members said PLATO could be brought back in the future.
School board member Christopher Link raised concerns about eliminating a program that has proven successful.
“We typically don’t build up successful programs to then stop them,” Link said.
Beyond programs, the board also weighed potential cuts to deferred facilities and maintenance, grounds and landscaping, technology, safety, professional learning, student assessments, and school and office supplies.
Taken together, those alternative cost-cutting options would still leave a remaining budget gap of a little more than $200,000.
Board member Michael Cherry acknowledged the weight of the decisions ahead.
“I know there’s a lot of emotions and have been a lot of emotions,” Cherry said.
“The goal is to try to preserve the forward progression that we’ve made all of the improvements and the momentum that this division and our superintendent and her vision, we want to preserve that as much as possible but we also have to be realistic and understand this is where we’re at this season,” Cherry said.
What comes next
District leaders say they are still waiting on the finalized state budget, and any additional state funding could affect what ultimately gets cut.
The district expects a budget update May 12, a budget preview May 26 and a final vote June 9.