The county’s school system expects to lose 115 students for next academic year. That loss will take its average daily attendance to 3,677 pupils.
A decline in student population directly impacts the school system’s funding. The commonwealth, which funds the highest percentage of the system’s budget, allocates money based on that daily attendance average.
Smyth County has experienced a steady loss of students for some time. About 20 years ago, in the 2002-03 fiscal year, the daily population came in at 5,033 students.
In presenting the school system’s draft budget to the county supervisors last week, Dr. Dennis Carter, superintendent, thanked them for working to address housing needs, which is hoped to help spark development and population growth.
The challenge of a declining population is not the only test school officials faced as they prepared the budget for the 2023-24 year, which starts July 1.
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“The budget challenge is real…. The state is in turmoil,” Carter said.
The General Assembly has not adopted a state budget, which will directly impact the school system’s funding, and legislative budget negotiators have advised that action shouldn’t be expected until after the June 20 primaries. However, the school system and local governments are required to have their budgets in place by July 1.
Of the draft Carter presented to the supervisors for their review and a public hearing later this month, the superintendent said the budget is “likely not going to hold true.”
As now prepared, the school system’s budget comes in at $66.2 million.
Among the statistics presented by Carter, the county system includes 687 full-time and 39 part-time personnel. Bus drivers cover 3,219 miles each day. Through the last day of school Thursday, the school’s food service staff prepared about 704,000 meals this year.
Currently, according to Carter, the budget includes a 5% across the board wage increase. However, the superintendent said, the school board has instructed him that if the budget adopted by the state includes a 7% raise, he’s to adjust the local numbers to meet that change.
Both chambers of the General Assembly proposed a 7% increase, but the so-called skinny budget put out as placeholder only included 5%, noted Carter.
The supervisors and school board have put an emphasis on improving teacher salaries for several years. At this point, Carter said, a beginning teacher earns about $40,000 a year, while one on the final of 28 career steps makes about $70,500.
Carter also noted that while state legislators corrected a spreadsheet error for 2023 that would have cost the school system $261,595, they have not addressed the error for 2024, which would amount to $646,000 for Basic Aid, which is typically used for general instruction, support services, transportation, and some fringe costs, including health care.
For the upcoming budget, Carter said, the school system experienced a 6.2% health insurance jump. Should the anticipated state budget include any additional funding, Carter said the school board also directed him to address the impact of that insurance increase on families.
As he looked at the year ahead, Carter also reflected on the successes of this past year and reflected that Smyth County schools can’t be talked about in isolation but conversations must include its partners.
He hailed Smyth Promise as one of the greatest partnerships for the community. The scholarship program, launched by the county’s board of supervisors, the Smyth County Community Foundation, and Virginia Highlands and Wytheville community colleges this year, ensures that tuition won’t be an obstacle for local high school graduates. It will work by covering “the last dollar” — that part of tuition not covered by other federal, state and private scholarships to attend either of the community colleges that serve the county.
Carter also expressed his gratitude to the supervisors and sheriff’s office for the presence of a SRO in each school. “I can’t thank you enough for that safety feature,” he said.
He also celebrated the Fentanyl Awareness effort in which students and staff were educated about overdosing and the use of Narcan to combat overdoses.
The supervisors will hold a public hearing on the school system’s proposed budget on Thursday, May 25, at about 5 p.m. The supervisors will also hold hearings on the county’s proposed budget and a proposed 2% water and sewer rate increase that evening. Individual sign-up sheets will be available for citizens who wish to speak at the hearings.
