The Henry County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the proposed fiscal 2024-25 county budget, with the first half nearly exclusively focused on the school division’s proposed budget. The second half of the hearing covered the overall budget.
Several community members signed up to speak, as one speaker after another supported the school division’s proposed budget of $109,370,899 million, which includes a request of $23,987,617 million in local funds.
The current proposed county budget has $21.6 million earmarked for the school division.
During the hearing, several residents said that granting the school board’s proposed budget is important.
Noting the importance of paying teachers well, Duane Whittaker, Magna Vista High School principal, said, “We had vacancies throughout the year at Magna Vista High School. Our most recent one was a math position, and I feel that the salaries that aren’t on the proposed teacher salary scale have something to do with the number of applicants I received for that.”
“I’m here to ask you to support the school budget that has been submitted because it’s fair,” said Mary Martin. “I can’t find any reason we can’t do it.”
Jennifer Powell and Michael Palmer also voiced support for funding the school’s full budget. “This is one of the best school systems in the state of Virginia,” said Palmer.
Garrett Dillard, of the Iriswood District, asked County Administrator Dale Wagoner about providing additional funding for the schools.
“What would be the reasons we wouldn’t have gone further to give the school what they requested,” Dillard asked.
Wagoner said the county must balance the other departments “Every dollar in this budget is important to someone. It becomes a very delicate balance in determining where the dollars go.
“Our community couldn’t stand a tax increase at this time,” he said. “I felt that the budget presented in this document accomplishes all of those goals without raising taxes.”
Reed Creek District Supervisor Dr. Pam Cobler asked for clarification about the $90 million dollars the county has in reserve.
“A lot of the citizens and the general public look at the county bank account and say, ‘well, they have $90 million in the bank,’” she said.
Wagoner explained that some of those funds have already been committed.
“At the end of the fiscal year, you have more than $60 million of that committed,” Wagoner said while comparing commitments to pending orders in a regular bank account. The county also has to manage its finances to obtain better rates if and when it needs to borrow money for projects.
Cobler said, “We should get a megaphone and stand on top of the buildings, on top of the administration building, on top of NCI, on the top of the schools, and say we have some of the greatest schools in Virginia. We do have comparable teacher salaries. We are not broke in Henry County.”
Many parents of students who attend Carlisle School rallied to ask the board to consider giving additional funds to help the school access another School Resource Officer (SRO).
The county currently has no funding earmarked for the private school, but representatives asked the board to consider giving additional funds to help the school access another School Resource Officer (SRO).
“As a (county) taxpayer, I would never think that public funds should go for private education,” Matthew McKinney, a Carlisle School board member, said. “That’s a non-starter as a taxpayer. We’re not asking you to educate our kids. We are asking you to keep them safe.”
He added the school must take funds “from education and provide safety for our school.”
Debra Buchanan, of the Horsepasture District, inquired about the number of county students that attend the school.
Head of School Beth Gammons explained that Carlisle currently has 320 students, 130 of which are from Henry County.
Buchanan asked Sheriff Wayne Davis to clarify the current pay arrangement for the SRO at Carlisle School.
“The same contract that we did with the county elementary schools, we did with Carlisle,” Davis said, and explained that Carlisle is currently paying the officers $35 an hour for the time they spend on school grounds, the same rate that county elementary resource officers get paid. This cost the school more than $43,000 annually.
A police car was recently provided to the school by the sheriff’s office to further enhance school safety, Davis said.
“Are you for-profit or non-profit,” Buchanan asked about the school, and she wondered about the amount of real estate taxes the school pays to the county.
“Carlisle is a federal 501-3c non-profit private education institution, and the best information I can get is that they do not pay taxes on real estate,” Wagoner said.
“Has anything been asked of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors or the Martinsville City Council to share in paying the resource office,” Joe Bryant, of the Collinsville District, asked. “It looks like the vast majority of the students are coming from other areas.”
Noting that Carlisle is situated in the county, an audience member said, “that would be who would respond to a call” in the event of a tragedy.
Carlisle representatives said the school has not sought funding from other areas, such as the City of Martinsville or Pittsylvania County.
“There’s nothing more important to me at the end of the day than to know our students are safe and secure, and no harm has come to them, the same we want for all our children,” Gammons said. “This need for an SRO to continue for our school is not about Carlisle School, it’s about Henry County children. That’s all it’s about.”
The board will consider adoption of the budget at its 3 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, April 23.
