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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-02-09000294 February 9, 1998 (Adjourned meeting) Page 1 A joint meeting of the Board of Supervisors and School Board was held on February 9, 1998, at 5:00 p.m., Room 235, County Office Building, McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. The meeting was adjourned from February 4, 1998. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. David P. Bowerman (arrived at 5:05 p.m.), Ms. Charlotte Y. Humphris, Mr. Forrest R. Marshall, Jr., Mr. Charles S. Martin (arrived at 5:25 p.m.) Mr. Walter F. Perkins and Ms. Sally H. Thomas. ABSENT: None. SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. John E. Baker, Mr. R. Madison Cummings, Jr., Ms. Susan C. Gallion, Mr. Jeffrey D. Joseph, Mr. Stephen H. Koleszar, Ms. Diantha H. McKeel and Dr. Charles M. Ward. OFFICERS PRESENT: County Executive, Robert W. Tucker, Jr.; County Attorney, Larry W. Davis; Division Superintendent, Kevin C. Castner; Human Resources Director, Mr. Michael Thompson; Deputy Human Resources Director, Mr. Robert Brandenburger; Assistant Superintendent for Support Services, Mr. Frank E. Morgan; Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Ms. Diane T. Ippolito; and Director of Building Services, Mr. A1 Reaser. Agenda Item No. 1. At 5:03 p.m., the Board of Supervisors was called to order by the Chairman, Mr. Marshall. The School Board was called to order by the Chairman, Mr. Baker. Because two members of the Board of Supervisors were not yet present, Mr. Tucker suggested that the boards move to Agenda Item No. 3. (Mr. Bowerman arrived at 5:05 p.m.) Agenda Item No. 3. Review of Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Process to Date and Discussion of Time Table of Northern Elementary School (Heard Out of Sequence). Mr. Morgan said when the School Board had approved its Capital Improve- ments Program (CIP), one request was that the Board of Supervisors approve funding of the Northern Elementary School based upon the original schedule. The Board of Supervisors has given its approval, and Mr. Morgan thanked them for their support. Once the CIP is finalized, site acquisition will move forward. Mr. Tucker said staff will soon begin looking at sites in northern Albemarle County. They will bring suggested sites to the School Board. Agenda Item No. 2a. Review of School Budget Process to Date: Superin- tendent's Presentation. Dr. Castner provided his presentation on the budget which is on file in the Clerk's office and made a part of the permanent records of the Board. In brief, he said this would be a difficult budget year. At a recent public hearing on February 4, 1998, the public expressed a great deal of anxiety about the budget, which includes a budget shortfall of $1.08 million. The composite index is negatively affecting the local government and school system. Since FY 1995-96 to FY 1998-99 the composite index had increased from .5585 to .6233~em 199q-~ ~o !998-99~ resulting in state funds dropping from 36 percent to 33 percent. This means that Albemarle County has received $750,000 to $1.0 million less this year than it would have, had the composite index remained steady. The Meals Tax will help, but this will still be a difficult year. The School Board's charge to Dr. Castner was to balance the budget consistent with the December Projected Revenues provided by the County Executive's Office, to implement a seven-period day, and to delineate unfunded initiatives and their costs. Dr~ Castner explained the rationale behind the seven-period school day. First, College Admissions Officers say Albemarle County students lose their competitive edge despite high achievement and outstanding Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores. Second, 91 percent of all Virginia School Divisions 00(}295 February 9, 1998 (Adjourned meeting) Page 2 provide this advantage to high school students. Lastly, there is an equal access issue. The current two-tiered system is unacceptable. Dr. Castner listed budget development assumptions. They include: a budget balanced to projected revenues, a three percent salary adjustment, implementation of a seven-period schedule, $750,000+ reductions in central support to schools, level funding of schools, a reduction of $150,000 in CIP technology funds, use of $680,000 in carryover, and existing personnel are being used, where possible, to staff Monticello High School. Included in the Superintendent's proposed FY 1998-99 budget of $76,481,903 budget were: a three percent salary adjustment, funding a portion of 19.1 growth positions, costs to open Monticello High School, a health insurance increase, Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and life insurance increases, remedial summer school, implementation of standards of accredita- tion, and a Support Analyst for technology. To meet budget challenges, Dr. Castner recommended several reductions in central support to schools. They included reductions in: textbook replace- ment ($218,602), instructional materials ($100,600), teacher training and curriculum development ($85,000), bus replacement ($327,010), and building improvements ($78,764). In order to defer bus replacement, which would reduce costs, Dr. Castner recommended an increased window for transportation (altering arrival and departure times), which reduces transportation costs (seven percent or $5.0 million+), and frees up resources for instruction. The proposal is to reduce nine buses from the current fleet, to add no additional buses for Monticello High School, resulting in more than $1.0 million in deferred costs avoided between FY 1998-2000. To summarize, Dr. Castner said Albemarle County Public Schools are on the right track, as indicated by steady progress over time and consistent with high student performance that is recognized statewide. There are high expectations for continued improvement. Strengths of the School Division are reflected in Scholastic Assessment Tests and second grade reading levels. Item No. 2b. Board Comments and Discussion with Supervisors. Ms. Thomas expressed concern about getting off the textbook cycle. If the School Divion purchases on the textbook cycle, it can realize a 20 percent savings. She asked whether the School Division would ever be able to get back on the cycle in the future. Dr. Castner said the School Division would catch up at a higher cost rate later. Carryover monies at the end of the year could be used for textbook purchases although this was not done this past year. Ms. Humphris asked about unfunded growth positions. She questioned whether space would need to be leased in order to locate these individuals. Dr. Castner said trailers will always be necessary as long as there is growth. However, Monticello High School will eliminate the need for 15 to 20 trailers. Mr. Reaser said the high schools represent the largest growth area. (Mr. Martin arrived at 5:25 p.m.) Ms. Humphris said she thought the Information Service Support Analyst positions were all local government positions used to support schools. Dr. Castner said there is a need for a third analyst who is school-based to resolve hardware support issues. This position will be school-funded. Ms. Thomas asked about the dollar figures related to growth. Dr. Castner said the information had been included in materials distributed to the Board. The documentation spelled out all specific costs on page ten (on file). Mr. Marshall asked how old the oldest buses are. Dr. Castner said the County tries to replace buses 13 years old and older. The state recommends replacement at 12 years of age. The County's guidelines are being stretched now, thanks to an excellent maintenance department. Mr. Marshall asked how many are 13 years old. Mr. Morgan said the County has never had funds available to replace all buses according to the schedule. This proposal would deal with a backlog from previous years. Mr. Marshall asked whether the School Division ever considered privatization of bus service. Mr. Morgan said some interest has been shown in providing service to the urban ring, but not February 9, 1998 (Adjourned meeting) Page 3 000296 many vendors are interested in long special education runs or those to rural areas. Mr. Tucker said the Board would have to put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) in order to see if there is interest. Mr. Koleszar said the opening of Monticello High School is affecting athletics at Albemarle and Western Albemarle High Schools. Their budgets are being dramatically cut, because funding is on a per-student basis, and they are losing students to the new high school. However, the same number of students is still expected to participate in sports in those schools. He said the public expressed concern over this issue at a recent public hearing. Ms. McKeel agreed with Mr. Koleszar. Mr. Marshall stressed the need to stay within the budget, and he expressed concern about the possibility of raising taxes, especially with the Meals Tax being approved. The Board of Supervisors never said the Meals Tax was the answer.to the budget problems, and an additional tax increase does not appear to have the public's support. However, the Board of Supervisors wants to give Education all the money that can be provided. Mr. Marshall then mentioned an article that had appeared in the Observer newspaper, regarding a recent School Board retreat on January 19, 1998. Mr. Baker said two retreat agenda items dealt with the School Board's relationship with the Board of Supervisors and with public relations. Direction to the Superintendent remained fast. He was asked to base the budget on revenues projected by the County Executive's Office and it was reaffirmed that the relationship between the two boards is critical. The School Board asked for regularly scheduled meetings with the Board of Supervisors to discuss issues face-to-face. The fourth recommendation was that chairs and vice-chairs of both boards meet on a monthly basis. He said another issue was how the School Division could distribute information more effectively to the public through an effective public relations program. Ms. Humphris said she had met with Ms. McKeel a few days earlier, and that Ms. McKeel had explained this to her. She admitted being disturbed at the Observer article, but feels better now that issues have been aired and explained to her. Ms. Thomas agreed with Ms. Humphris. Agenda Item No. 4a. Discussion of Hendricks Study Recommendation to Review Beginning and Ending Ranges of Classified Scales in Relation to Market Changes: Pay for Performance. Mr. Morgan said the Hendricks plan recommended that salaries be examined every two years, and that the scale be adjusted as necessary. This year, staff has recommended a three-percent adjustment in classified salaries, to be placed into merit. There were two reasons this was recommended: one dealt with compression, the other dealt with budget issues. Mr. Brandenburger said a survey was conducted, but it was not a full study. A three-percent pay increase for classified employees and teachers was recommended. A proposal was also made regarding compensation and health insurance. Mr. Brandenburger shared a handout which reflected health insurance projections for other localities (on file). Mr. Marshall asked when the County is to renegotiate its contract with QualChoice. Mr. Brandenburger said the County has to renegotiate every year, as there is an annual renewal with no premium caps in place.. Item No. 4b. Review of Compensation in Comparison to Surrounding Areas. Mr. Thompson discussed compression and 1998-99 Pay Scale and Merit Options. He showed an example of one position which demonstrated why a three- percent increase was recommended. Pay compression is a problem for many employees. New employees may come in at the same salary as employees who have been with the County longer. Staff recommends a three-percent average merit because it helps resolve the compression issue and helps the County remain competitive. This would have the effect of an increase in salaries to a favorable midpoint ratio. There are concerns with this proposal. Starting pay may not be high enough to attract some employees although managers still have the flexibility to hire employees up to 20 percent above the recommended starting pay. The pay scale and possibly the merit will need to be adjusted next year. February 9, 1998 (Adjourned meeting) Page 4 000297 Mr. Koleszar said he was on the Compression Committee that studied these issues. One issue that was not resolved was how scale increases would be implemented. Some people suggest that if the pay scale is increased, ~ everyone's salary must be raised by that same percentage. He recommended putting all of the money in the merit pool. As long as the merit pool is greater than the increase in the scale, then there will not be compression. This is more resistant to compression at the bottom of the scale because people at the bottom benefit more from a greater merit increase. The compression issue needs to be resolved. He suggested leaving the three percent merit pool intact and increase the scale by one percent. This does not affect employees and moving the scale up would maintain competitiveness for new-hires. The cost would be ~revenue neutral." Mr. Huff said leaving the three-percent in the merit pool and raising the scale one percent for new employees would mean there would be less separation than now. This appears to be a good idea, one of which has little impact on budget. Mr. Koleszar said in the past what has happened and why ~ there has been compression is that "our scale is stuck" for four to six years, then bounced to be competitive, and then "we are back into this compression problem". The scale needs to be moved a little bit every year, then the compression problem would be alleviated. It may be too late tO do a detailed analysis during this budget cycle; however, a review needs to be done to ensure that the Hendricks plan continues to be viable. Mr. Huff said staff would like to further examine this proposal and then make a recommendation to both boards. Mr. Perkins asked what assumptions are being made. Mr. Huff said the more money that goes into merit, the more money that is just a straight increase. Employees at the midpoint range would get less. Mr. Bowerman asked if that would not make the compression issue worse. Mr. Huff said going strictly on merit gets current employees moving along the scale. New employees would not benefit. Mr. Tucker said when employees reach the midpoint, pay increases slow down. New hires would then move forward more quickly. If the increase is all in merit, the quicker employees move who have been here longer. Mr. Bowerman asked if this would be in addition to other'~ strategies to deal with the compression issues. Mr. Tucker said staff is examining other funding strategies to move people away from starting salaries toward recognizing years of service instead. Mr. Marshall asked if starting salaries are the same as last year. Mr. Tucker said, ~yes." Mr. Marshall said as a business man, he believes that if there are many people who want a job, the County should hire the employee that costs the least. Mr. Koleszar said not raising the starting scale for a period of time means that new employees would start at the same salaries as long-term employees. Mr. Marshall said they should not be started at those salaries. Mr. Koleszar said current entry level salaries are already resulting in problems attracting good staff. The consensus of the Board of Supervisors and the School Board was to' have staff examine the one percent scale and compression issues. Agenda Item No. 5. Other Matters not Listed on the Agenda. Mr. Baker said the School Board held a large public hearing last Wednesday, February 4, 1998, with 200 to 350 people in attendance. There were people with many different interests, concerns and opinions. It was positive that everyone could hear about the issues that others are interested in. The public also received a better perspective of what goes into balancing a budget. Ms. Thomas said she liked the light system used to advise speakers when their allotted time was up. February 9, 1998 (Adjourned meeting) Page 5 Agenda Item No. 6. Adjournment. At 6:10 p.m., with no further comments, Mr. Marshall adjourned the Board of Supervisors meeting to February 11, 1998 at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Baker adjourned the School Board until 6:30 p.m. that evening. Approved by Beard Initials '~(~' Chairman ~