State budget shortfall threatens school divisions in coalfields

WISE -- A projected $1.2 billion state budget deficit poses a catastrophic financial situation for coalfield school divisions, Wise County Schools Superintendent Greg Mullins told the county School Board on Tuesday.Coalfield school chiefs other than Tazewell County shared their own budget shortfall projections based on anticipated loss of state basic aid dollars as well as a threatened loss of a 2 percent raise for teachers already built in to most local school division budgets -- including Wise County -- for the current fiscal year.Language in the state budget automatically eliminates the 2 percent raise if state revenues fall short of Gov. Terry McAuliffe's previous state revenue projections, now threatened by the most recent projected $1.2 billion shortfall.State basic aid to local school divisions is predicated in large part on enrollment. Wise County built its current fiscal year budget on a projected enrollment of 5,684 students. But Mullins on Tuesday said initial enrollment figures for Wise County Public Schools is at 5,650, a potential loss of over $192,000 in state basic aid this fiscal year based on the average $7,000 per student basic aid rate.Also, if the 2 percent raise doesn't materialize from Richmond, Wise County could lose another $282,260 this fiscal year. All told, Mullins said the potential budget shortfall for Wise County could be north of $475,000, a huge wallop for the small school division that somehow continues to make do with much less than wealthier school divisions, ranking 4th out of 132 school divisions in all of Virginia for the second year in a row in the latest state Standards of Learning tests' performance review for the 2015-16 school year.School division chiefs in Wise, Lee, Dickenson, Scott, Buchanan and Russell counties, and the City of Norton, project a total $3.76 million loss in state basic aid for the coalfield county school divisions. Mullins said Tazewell hadn't reported its numbers yet, so that's likely to go higher. He said the coalfield school divisions, other than Tazewell, have lost a combined 538 students since March of this year and the start of the new school year last month.Mullins called the potential shortfalls "unprecedented" for the coalfield school divisions. Budget problems have been endured in the last several years but "never have they been so dramatic" as what is now being thrust at them from Richmond, he said.Mullins said the coalfield school division chiefs want to gather "a collective voice" from the coalfield region with a crisis "summit" at The University of Virginia's College at Wise, currently scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the college's Convocation Center, not just to get Richmond's attention to their plight, but convince state lawmakers to hammer out solutions."If we don't get some help from the state level, it's going to be a very difficult time for school divisions in our region," Mullins said. "I don't think a lot is considered (in Richmond) for us here economically with (the downturn in) the coal industry. We need to talk to them about a short term solution and look long term as well. And in the short term, we've got to survive."He said the region needs to find its "collective voice" to say, "this is where we are, and this is what we need." Mullins said the governor has "touted all the jobs" the state has added during his administration "but the fact is, most are low paying jobs" that don't deliver the taxpaying freight, as evidenced in the $1.2 billion projected state shortfall.