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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-04-21 adjApril 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) (Page 1) 183 An adjourned meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on April 21, 1988, at 4:00 P.M., Meeting Room 11, County Office Building, McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. This meeting was adjourned from April 20, 1988. PRESENT: Messrs. Edward H. Bain, Jr., and F. R. Bowie, Mrs. Patricia H. Cooke (arrived at 4:06 P.M.), Messrs. C. Timothy Lindstrom, Walter F. Perkins and Peter T. Way. ABSENT: None. OFFICERS PRESENT: County Executive, Mr~ Guy B. Agnor, Jr. Agenda Item No. 1. The meeting was called to order at 4:02 P.M. by the Chairman, Mr. Way. (Note: The Board took action on the following matters which were scheduled for later on the night agenda.) Agenda Item No. 7. Contract Extension - Jordan Development (Deferred from April 20, 1988). Several years ago, Mr. Agnor said, the County learned that the Old Scottsville School was built with approximately 18 feet of the main building extending over the adjacent property. The School Board had secured an easement rather than purchasing this property. Mr. Agnor said the County has been negotiating with Uniroyal-Goodrich to purchase 5.29 acres between the levee and the school, a small strip of which will be needed by the Jordan Development Corporation for the development of the Old Scottsville School as an elderly housing project. To allow enough time for additional surveys and rezoning, Mr. Agnor said staff r~commends that April 30, 1988 deadline on the contract between the County ~nd the Jordan Development Corpo- ration be extended to July 29, 1988. Motion was offered by Mr. Bowie and seconded by Mr. Lindstrom to accept the recommendation of the County Executive an~ adopt the following resolution: BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, that Paragraph 11 of the Agreement dated January 13, 1988, between the County of Albemarle, Virginia ("Seller"), and the Jordan Development Corporation ("Buyer"), be amended as follows: 11. Closing. All the contingencies set forth herein must be satisfied on or before Apr~t-BS~-~988~ July 29 ~1988~ and closing shall occur within fifteen (15) days after the satisfaction of all of the conditions and contingencies contained in this agreement. There was no further discussion. Roll was called and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Bain, Bowie, Lindstrom, Perkins and Way. NAYS: None. ABSENT: Mrs. Cooke. (Note: Mrs. Cooke arrived at 4:06 P.M.)' Agenda Item No. 8. Appointment: County.Engineer (Deferred from April 20, 1988). Mr. Agnor recommended that Mr. Richard Moring be appointed County Engineer and outlined his qualifications for the Board. Motion was offered by Mr. Lindstrom and seconded by Mr. Bowie to accept the recommenda- tion of the County Executive and appoint Mr. ~oring County Engineer, effective May 1, 1988. There was no further discusiion. Roll was called and the motion carried by the following recorded ~ote: AYES: Messrs. Bain and Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, MesSrs. Lindstrom, Perkins and Way. NAYS: None. ~ Agenda Item No. 2. Executive Session: iPersonnel. At 4:10 P.M., motion was offered by Mr. Lindstrom and seconded by Mr. Bain to enter executive session to discuss personnel matters. There was no further discussion. Roll was called and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: 184 April 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) (Page 2) Messrs. Bain and Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Lindstrom, Perkins and Way. None. Agenda Item No. 3. Recess for Supper and Reconvene in the Auditorium at 7:30 P.M. The Board reconvened into open session at 7:39 P.M. Agenda Item No. 4. Pledge of Allegiance. Agenda Item No. 5. Moment of Silence. Agenda Item No. 6. Public Hearing: FY 1988-89 Albemarle County Budget. Mr. Way asked Mr. Agnor for some introductory comments on the budget. Mr. Agnor said that local revenues, the receipt of funds from real estate taxes, sales taxes, building taxes, and recordation of property fees, have increased dramatically. Unfortunately, he said, state revenues have not increased at the expected rate, especially state funding for the School Fund. To make up for dwindling state support, he said, all carryover funds will be applied toward the School budget, contrary to normal County policy which usually assigns carryover money to one-time cost items, such as equipment. Mr. Agnor said the School staff projects there will be no carryover money left in the School budget at the end of FY 1987-88. He disagreed with this projection and said with proper financial management the Schools could have as much as $500,000 left in carryover money. Mr. Way then opened the public hearing and asked that citizens limit their comments to three minutes each. He said he would allow representatives from the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad (WARS) to speak first since some of them were on rescue squad duty and needed to return to their station as soon as possible. Dr. Russell Herring, a retired doctor from the CountM, addressed the Board and offered a medical perspective on the issue. He.said the rescue squads are not asking for more money for volunteers, but f~r the tools and equipment to do the job. Mr. Mark Adams, President of WARS, said the last time he addressed the Board, the needs of the rescue squad were urgent. Now, he, said, the needs are critical. Recently, WARS lost one ambulance due to fire and another due to transmission failure. He said he feels the Board is sympa{hetic, but believes his group has fallen victim to a bureaucratic delay tactici in the form of a "study". He said the delay has demoralized his group, as he and other members of WARS must take time off from their jobs and medical duties to raise money for the rescue squad. He pointed out that County rescue squads received one-fifteenth the funds allotted to County fire departments. He quoted Mr. Agnor's recent statement to the press, in which the County!Executive said the County may consider hiring paid personnel to man understaffed shifts for the rescue squads. Rather than hiring paid personnel, Mr. Adams said, the money should go to the volunteers who are already serving the County rescue squads, who put in thousands of hours each year, unpaid and virtually unthanked. Mr. Way said he agreed with Mr. Adams: there should b'e a better way of appropriating funds to County rescue squads. He said the proposed fire and rescue squad needs study would not be devoted exclusively ko the issue of volunteers versus paid personnel; that would be only one a~ea of investiga- tion. Mr. Agnor said the statement quoted by Mr. Adams concerned a request from the Jefferson County Firefighters' Association for paid empiloyees at fire stations who are serving as first responders to rescue squa~ calls. Mr. Perkins told Mr. Adams that $25,000 was placed in ~ contingency fund. If the VPI Extension Service conducted the study, he said, khere should be nearly $20,000 additional funds available for the rescue squads on July 1, 1988. April 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) (Page 3) 185 Mr. Franz Stillfried, the activities coordinator for the Independence Resource Center (IRC), addressed the Board. He said the Center is pleased with the County's decision to lower the bus fare for handicapped riders throughout the County to $1.50. He referred to a letter dated April 8, 1988, from JAUNT to the Board (on file in the Clerk's office), which asked for additional funding so that the fare for handicapped riders in the urban area could be lowered to $0.50. In light of a recent City decision, he said, the IRC now asks that the Board subsidize lowering the fare to $0.75 for handi- capped riders in the urban area. The major reason for high unemployment rates among the disabled, he said, is the lack of affordable transportation. Lowering the fare to $1.50 throughout the County is a big help; lowering the fare to $0.75 in the urban area would be even better. Ms. Joan Taylor, a representative of the Charlottesville regional chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW), addressed the Board. She said members of NOW applaud the Board's decision to fund the full requests of both the Shelter for Help in Emergency and the Sexual Assault Resource Agency. Her group also supports the request of the Monticello Area Community Action Agency for $26,805 for its basic programs and for the Summer Youth Employment Academic Reinforcement Program and Project Discovery. She said members of NOW also support requests by the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) for adult day care, home safety, and the congregate meals programs. She said NOW believes JABA is the best agency to handle the home care program being given up by the Red Cross. Most of the elderly an~ their care givers are women, she said, and do not get the assistance they nee~ and deserve from the community. Ms. Taylor said NOW also supports the r~quest of the Youth Service Center, because her group thinks its State-m~ndated functions of research and coordination are essential and are not the responsibility of any other insti- tution. With all the problems facing youth ~oday, she said, including adoles- cent pregnancy, drugs, AIDS, condonement of ~exual assault, and sexist atti- tudes in general, it should be clear to loca~ policy-makers that the problems of youth need further investigation. Other ~equests NOW supports as essential for the prevention of poverty and injustice Go women in the County are the full requests of: JAUNT, the Charlottesvill~Albamarle Legal Aid Society, Offender Aid and Restoration, Outreach Counseling, Community Attention, the Northwestern Virginia Health Systems Agency, !and the Thomas Jefferson Health Department. She said members of NOW are shocked at t~he continuing unwillingness of the School Board to accept the guidelines of ~he Board of Supervisors concern- ing a ceiling for the school budget. She believes that the Board has the right to reject any budget which its members .cannot understand or which is unjustified. Ms. Taylor said the debacle in budgetinglfor the schools and the incoher- ence of the criteria used by the Program Review Committee in recommending funding for social programs lead NOW to make three recommendations: o The County should seek the City's assistance in developing a zero-based budget. Since the City wins awards year after year for its budgeting, and the results seem more meaningful and useful than the results of the County's budgeting process, the County should not be too proud to learn a few things from the City. The School Board members should be oriented all together and one-by-one by the Supervisors who appointed them concerning the crucial importance of bringing in at least one budget each year under the guidelines given by the B~ard. School Board members should also provide complete and useful answers to the questions of Board members and citizens, regardless of the State-mandated system of categories. !~ The County should create a Social Development Commission, like the one used by the City, to improve the criteria and make recommenda- tions concerning all multi-jurisdictional and agency programs. As it stands, the process in use by th~ Program Review Committee is not open to the public, and appears incoherent and arbitrary. 186 April 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) (Page 4) Ms. Sally Thomas, a representative of the League of Women Voters, addressed the Board and commended the County Executive on the improved format of the budget. Despite increasing revenues, she said, her group is concerned that the County may not be able to meet its citizens' ne~ds in education and other areas. She said members of the League of Women Voters regret the County Execu- tive's recommendation concerning the school budget. She~said she hopes a way will be found this year to meet the school system's justifiable needs. Whatever the outcome of the present budget decision, she said, the League 'of Women Voters urges the Board to meet with the School Board after this budget cycle, so that these problems do not continue into the budget for next year. Ms. Thomas said it is the policy of the League of Women Voters to promote social and economic justice, secure equal rights for all~ and combat discrimination and poverty. Most of the programs which ought to be addressed under this policy are multi-jurisdictional, relatively new, require small amounts of money which are easily challenged, and require a "good neighbor" commitment to equity. The County ought to do its share to support these programs, even when other jurisdictions do not. After l~stening to the discussions in the work sessions and reading the justifi6ations in the rele- vant written documents, the League of Women Voters suppor.ts funding the following programs: the basic request of JAUNT and redu&ing the fares for handicapped to $1.50; JABA's adult day care, congregate ~eals, home safety an¢ home care programs, as well as the group's increasing tralnsportation costs; the general request of the Monticello Area Community Act{on Agency (MACAA), well as their request for the summer program and for Project Discovery; the requests of both Outreach Counseling and the Youth Services Center, including the request for funds for research and coordination; the!irequests for United Way Child Care Scholarships and for the Central Virginia~Child Development Association; and requests from Shelter for Help in Emergency, the Sexual Assault Resources Agency and the Legal Aid Society. Ms. Thomas said the League also supports the reques~ of the Northwestern Virginia Health Systems Agency (NWVHSA), a request the Cq~nty Executive recommended not be funded. She said the NWVHSA is the o~ly channel for local input concerning planning for health care. Without this Drganization and its volunteers, she said, all decisions about alternatives t~~ nursing homes, hospitals, and expensive equipment will be made in Richm~hd, under the influ- ence of health care providers, rather than by both consulters and providers. Ms. Thomas said the League urges that money be foundito fund a special study of the benefits and costs of the County hiring its Dwn sanitarians in order to enforce higher standards for septic tanks and private wells. The State, she continued, is not adequately enforcing its standards in the County, even though its standards are among the lowest in the United States. She sai, the League thinks it appropriate that the County assume m~re responsibility this area. Mr. Kenneth Wade addressed the Board on behalf of CoUnty bus drivers. said he and other bus drivers are concerned that they wili receive salary increases of only 3.75 percent this year. Last year, he ~aid, the School Board told bus drivers that the salaries for teachers must be increased first and bus drivers would have to wait until this year to receive substantial salary increases. After waiting a year, he said, he and 9ther bus drivers are disappointed with their raise of 3.75 percent. He also asked that the Board appropriate the funds necessary to purchase 20 new school buses. Some of the buses they must drive now date from 1971 lack some of the safety equipment available on newer buse~. Mr. Way asked that the bus drivers represented by Mr~i Wade stand. About fifty people rose to their feet. j' Ms. Juanita O'Brien, a school bus driver for the County, addressed the Board. When the County budget must be cut, she asked, wh~ does the Board always reduce the funding for the schools. Mr. Way reminded her that the Board trimmed the budget for County government by the same~ percentage as the school budget. Ms. O'Brien said new parks and raises for .~ifeguards are not April 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) (Page 5) 187 as important as salary increases for bus drivers. For too long, she said, bus drivers have been made to feel like second-class citizens. This year she and her fellow bus drivers ask to be treated better. Mr. Roger McCauley, a school bus driver for the County, addressed the Board. He asked why raises were proposed and then taken away, as the amount employees must pay for insurance increased by about one percent a year. He also said that seniority means nothing in his profession: were he to wor'k eight years, someone new would still start at the same salary. He believes school bus drivers should be appreciated more than they are. At 8:30 P.M., Mr. Way noted that the public hearing had shifted to a discussion of the school budget. He asked that all public comments be con- fined to school budget issues. Mr. Bill Stone, a citizen of the Samuel~Miller District, addressed the Board. He thanked Mr. Bain for supporting the request of the School Board. He is concerned that such a gap separates what the Board perceives as a fair budget and what the School Board and the public consider to be adequate. He feels an answer may lie in the differing expectations of the Board and School Board. He said if expectations are high, if excellence is the goal, then the request of the School Board is justifiable, i~If, on the other hand, the Board is content merely to meet State standards and have an average school system, then the Board's budget makes sense. He believes that cutting $2.2 million from the school system would harm the quality of education. He suggested that the Board poll the public and find out what citizens want from the school system and then act accordingly. ~ Mr. Stone added that he believes the problem with the budget is not one of over-expenditure, but a shortage of revenues. He thinks it is reasonable to expect a tax increase to cover the decrease in state funding. He also chided the Board for its decision to lower t~e tax rate last year and said that reduction cost the County nearly one million dollars. Ms. Margaret Wood, a parent, asked that the Board not cut the reported two million dollars from the school budget. !By any standard, she said, the County enjoys a good school system. She said that quality must be maintained and improved. While money may not guarantee~igood schools, she said, the lack of money guarantees bad ones. She asked tha~ all those who supported the School Board's request stand. Nearly the whole audience rose. Ms. Lynley Gough, President of the Albemarle Education Association (AEA), addressed the Board. She said the AEA supports the original request of the School Board. These are times of increased ~nrollment, she said, and the budget must reflect this growth. Nor should lthe County be satisfied with the status quo, but should strive towards excellence, just as students are expected to do. ~ Ms. Susan Bramley, Chairman of the Albemarle County Enrichment Advisory Committee, addressed the Board. She said th~Committee supports the budget presented by the School Board. She believes this budget meets the demands of increases in enrollment, state mandates, and the expectations of County residents. She .said members of the Committee!support an increase in taxes to fund the School Board's request. Mr. Ken Hollet, President of the Broadusl Wood Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), addressed the Board. He said the PTO ~reluctantly supports the budget submitted by the School Board, reluctantly because he feels too many cuts were made in this budget to insure a standard of excellence in County schools. He said the technological advances made in the field of education greatly improved the school system, but also made the system and its budget confusing. He said the average person cannot understand the needs of the school system; that's why specialists, such as members of the School Board and the Superin- tendent, are chosen. He said the Board should limit itself to deciding only whether the total amount of the School budget makes sense. He says the thirteen percent increase in the School budget over that of last year is understandable in light of state mandates, past increases in the budget and increases in enrollment. If the Board does not fully fund the School Board's request, Mr. Holler said, middle-class families such as his will suffer but can find ways to offset the damage. It is the poor who will suffer the most, he said. ~ 188 April 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) (Page 6) Ms. Cathy Horner, whose children attend Murray and Meriwether Lewis Schools, addressed the Board. She said she is angry that so much time must be spent trimming the budget, time that could be better spent working on curricu- lums and addressing the problem of overcrowded schools. She does not want her children to suffer because of a conflict between the Board and the School Board. Ms. Georgia Grant, a resident of the Jack Jouett District, addressed the Board and stated her opposition to the reductions recommended for the school budget. She said the County is not competitive in the area of teachers' salaries; she knows of many master teachers who have left the County for higher pay in the Northern Virginia area. The County is one of the wealthiest in the country, she said, yet the school system here is not among the best, instead it is mediocre when compared to other school systems around the country. She supports higher property taxes to improve education in the County. Ms. Pam Kemp, Vice-President of the Stone-Robinson PTO, addressed the Board. In 1985-86, she said, the State increased its funding of the schools by 20.1 percent over that of the previous year~ in 1986-87, by 15.3 percent; and, in 1987-88, by 11.7 percent. Next year, she said, the State proposes to increase its funding to the schools by only 1.2 percent above that of 1987-88. Each year, she said, enrollment at Stone-Robinson has increased: from 14 more students in 1985-86 to 140 additional students in 1986-87, 174 in 1987-88, and 224 additional students are predicted for 1988-89. She is concerned that a cut in the School Board's request will harm every student~in this County. Mr. Jerry Donowitz, father of two children in County~schools, addressed the Board. This year, he said, the budget process is qui~e different from that of previous years. He said he sensed a spirit of defiance, of arrogance, on the part of the Board this year. He charged that this arrogance mani- fested itself when the Board demanded that Mr. Overstreet'justify the School Board's budget and then refused to grantthe request, cla~ming that the justification was too complex to understand. It is arrogant, he claimed, to settle upon the figure of two million dollars as the amo~t that must be cut, without identifying the fluff that should be cut. He said Mr. Agnor, who recommended that 2.2 million be cut from the School Board,s budget, is not an educator. Nor was Mr. Agnor aware of all that had been c~t from the School budget before it was presented to the Board. Even more a~rogant of the Board, Mr. Donowitz charged, was its refusal to listen to the ad~ice of School Board members the Board itself had appointed, to the teachers who say they need more money and to the parents. He asked who the Board considers to be its experts on education. He said Board members cannot claim to support education and refuse to buy new buses, raise teachers' salaries, or fund new programs and consider increasing the class size for elementary schools.~ He asked that the Board do whatever was necessary to settle the distrust whDch has grown between the Board and the School Board, without sacrificing the e~hcation of County children. ~ The Board recessed at 9:15 P.M. and reconvened at 9:2iD P.M. Mr. Lee Early, a parent and a resident of Earlysville.I, addressed the Board. He said he believes that the Board is concerned, r~ther than arrogant. He said the School budget is complicated and requires more'time for review than is allowed under the present schedule. He reminded the Board that the budget experienced several cuts before appearing before th~ Board and de- scribed some of these cuts which affected Broadus Wood school. He said the allocation for equipping new trailers had been halved; instead of equipping four trailers, funding would be available to equip only t~b. He said if the increasing enrollment at Broadus Wood required four trailers, the funds needed to equip the additional two may have to come from some other school. The second thing eliminated by the School Board, he said, was ~he position of an assistant principal, which Broadus Wood is entitled to, sigce its enrollment is over 400. He would like the Board to know the kinds ofithings that were cut before the Board saw the budget. He agreed with a recent report that only 40 percent oi County residents have children in County schools. However, he said, that figure does not consider the young couples about to have children, or the ~unts, uncles and grandparents of school children. When all these people ars considered, he ~ril 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) 189 (Page 7) said, the percentage of County residents with a stake in the school system increases. He added that a good school system lowers the rate of juvenile delinquency, a benefit enjoyed by all County residents. He asked that the Board reconsider its decision on the school budget Ms. Lynn Tillach, a parent, addressed the Board and said she was vehe- mently opposed to any decision on the budget which would increase the size of classes in any County school. Ms. Patricia Smith, a mother of two children attending Stone-Robinson Elementary school, addressed the Board. In the Daily Progress dated April 21, 1988, she read what the School Board plans to do if the Board cuts the Schools budget by $2.2 million. She said she was appalled to read that there would be no new schools built, even in cases of severe overcrowding. There will be no new programs, no expansion of existing programs, no new buses, no new equipment. If this budget is cut by $2.2 million, she said, her work over the past two years, her efforts to lower the size of the classrooms, will be for nOthing. Twenty-five students, she said, is 'too many for a kindergarten class. If the School budget is cut, she said the School Board predicts that class sizes may increase to almost 35 students. How many Board members, she asked, would volunteer to lead a youth group containing that many children? Ms. Linda Lakeland, mother of two children enrolled in Murray School, addressed the Board and asked that the School budget not be cut. She said increasing the class size from the current average of 22 to 25 would intensify the demands placed upon the teachers. She said the schools have trimmed art education, music classes and physical education~ programs. What else, she asked, is there left to trim? ~ An unidentified man addressed the Boardi Although every County resident has had a chance to appear before the Board,lhe said, not one person has asked the Board to cut $2.2 million from the Schooii budget. Instead, he said, everyone who has spoken has urged the Board to approve the School Board's request and agreed to pay the extra taxes nee~essary to fund the request. Since no one else wished to address thelBoard, Mr. Way closed the public hearing at 9:30 P.M. He thanked all those w~o participated in the public hearing and assured them that what they had ~aid would be carefully considered by the Board. Nevertheless, he said, the Boalrd is not cutting $2.2 million, but adding $3.5 million to the estimate given the School Board at the begin- ning of the budget process. He said the budget recommended by the County Executive will not necessitate an increase in the student-teacher ratio. Moreover, he added, the County presently has'an excellent school system, not a mediocre one as some have said. In response~it° the citizen who asked for volunteers to lead a group of over 25 youth, i~Mr. Way said he has raised 80 foster children who have attended County schdols and each received an excellent education. He said he supports education but cannot simply accept whatever funding the School Board requests without asking questions. Mrs. Cooke added that citizens who complained of the mediocrity of County schools denigrated the efforts of County teachers who worked hard to insure the excellence of County schools. She said she had two children who were educated in County schools and later attended the University of Virginia and the McIntire School of Commerce. She attribdted the success of her children to the hard-working teachers of the County. As stewards of the taxpayers' dollars, she said, she and other Board membegs would be negligent if they did not question the School Board's budget. Thi~ scrutiny should not be consid- ered an insult to the School Board, or the Superintendent, she said. It is a duty that each Board member has toward every~taxpayer. Mr. Bain asked the County Executive if ~he Board considered increasing the recommended funding for the School budge~, must there be another adver- tisement and public hearing. Mr. Agnor said "yes". Mr. Bain said this Board had spent more:i:time than any other Board examin- ing the School budget, as well as those of every other County department and agency, on a line-by-line basis. After hours of analyzing the budget, he said, he believes there are some proposed expenditures in the School budget that could be excised without damaging the quality of education in the County. However, he said, cutting the entire recommended amount of $2.2 million will 3_90 April 21, 1988 (Adjourned from April 20, 1988) (Page 8) have a bad impact on County schools. He said he would support an increase of four cents in the real estate tax rate in order to restore $950,000 of the proposed $2.2 million cut. Mr. Bowie said the School budget has increased by over eight million dollars in the past two years. He said the citizens who spoke at the public hearing offer the Board only one solution to the problem: to fund every request the school staff has presented, otherwise the School Board will cut the funds going to individual schools. He said he would like to see the School Board cut line items other than the funding intended for the schools, but the Board cannot tell the School Board how to spend its allotment. He asked that County residents go directly to the School Board if they resent funds being cut for individual schools. He said the increases in the student-teacher ratio have nothing to do with the School operating budget, but may be affected by the Capital Improvements Program, which will not be decided for three more months. Mr. Perkins said he believes there is enough money is the School budget recommended by the County Executive to fund new school buses and raises for school bus drivers and teachers. He said the School Board spends too much money on items that have little to do with education, such'as the thousands of dollars allotted for conference trips. Mr. Lindstrom said he agonized over the School budgeti this year, more than he has any other budget in the eleven years he has served on the Board. Every year, he said, he has supported the budget requestedilby the School Board and the increases in taxes necessary to fund the request. He voted against the reduction in tax rates approved by the Board last year:~ After hours of examining this budget, he said, he is convinced that the S~hool Board's request this year is unreasonable. He said there are two ways to handle the budget process. The Board could give the School Board an arbitrary amoun~ of money and demand that the schools stay within this amount.. What this Board does instead is offer the School Board the chance to request more money if the Board can be satisfied that the additional funding is justified. Mr. Lindstrom said he has lost confidence in School staff. He supports the initiatives the School Board has taken in the past several years and believes that Mr. Overstreet is the best Superintenden~ the County has had in a long time. Nevertheless, he believes that the budget has been improperly managed, inadvertently rather than deliberately. He believes this mismanage- ment springs from a poor attitude concerning public money .... After subjecting this budget to a line-by-line scrutiny, he has discovered what he feels to be over one million dollars worth of unnecessary expenditures~ He is inclined to support an increase over the recommended budget, but not the full amount requested by the School Board, even though an increase wou~d demand extra- ordinary measures from the Board since the deadlines for adoption of the budget have already been set.. Although he may support a s~all increase, he does not want to send the wrong signals to the schools staff and public: he still believes that a lot of money is being mismanaged. I~ the increase were all to go to teacherst salaries, he said, he would supportiithe request. Much of the request, however, is earmarked for items that have no clear relation to education. He said he cannot support the additional $2.2 Million requested by the School Board. ~ Agenda Item No. 9. Other Matters Not Listed on the A~enda from the Board and Public. There were no such matters. Agenda Item No. 10. Adjourn. At 9:58 P.M., motion was offered by Mr. Bowie and seconded by Mr. Lindstrom to adjourn to 4:00 P.M.~, April 28, 1988. There was no further discussion. Roll was called and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Bain and Bowie, Mrs. CoOke, Messrs. Lindstrom~ Perkins and Way. NAYS: None. cmti~ I