VERONA – Augusta County Schools workers lobbied county supervisors Wednesday to direct more local tax money to the district.
The supervisors delayed answering the plea. Budget deliberations begin Monday.
“How are we to interpret the lack of funding for our schools?” asked Laura Jones, a Stuarts Draft High School history teacher and co-president of the Augusta County Education Association.
A $90-million budget passed Tuesday by the Augusta County School Board tentatively lowered county funding for the second straight year.
Mary Thomas, another county educator and co-president of the local union, said schools employees were considering second and third jobs to make ends meet next year.
The budget passed by the school board freezes pay and requires workers to contribute 10 percent to help cover health insurance increases next year, translating to extra costs of about $50 a month per employee.
“You are losing top-notch employees. Some are leaving only because of a retirement incentive,” Thomas said.
Stuarts Draft High teacher Mike Baxter asked the supervisors to consider ways to increase county revenues. He said the county has depended too much on home construction, which is not going to happen during a recession.
Pastures Supervisor Tracy Pyles suggested supervisors consider pulling $750,000 from a revenue-sharing account for roads.
“We need to do more for education. It’s our number one responsibility,” he said.
Supervisors voted 6-1 to delay any budget decisions until deliberations begin. Those talks are scheduled for three days next week.
Pyles also asked supervisors to delay building the Greenville Fire-Rescue Station.
A public hearing on the station is set for April 14 and a recommendation has been made on a low bid for the project of slightly more than $1 million.
Pyles said the Greenville station would be the first volunteer firehouse built in Augusta County entirely with taxpayer money.
“Every other [volunteer station] has been built with blood, sweat and spaghetti suppers,” Pyles said.
He said it’s not the right time to add the station, and it makes more sense to move the county’s Company 10 firehouse from Staunton south.
“We are going against the fabric and culture of this county,” Pyles said.
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