After a recently failed bid for lump sum funding, the chairman of the Henry County School Board outlined the reasons and gave a behind the scenes view from the board’s perspective.
Teddy Martin III, board chairman, and of the Reed Creek District, said the school board has discussed the potential need and desire for lump sum funding for a few years. Under the current practice of categorical funding, the board of supervisors must approve transfers between categories. With the proposed lump sum funding, the school board would have more flexibility to move funds between categories without requiring board approval.
Lump sum funding, Martin said, would give the school board additional flexibility to move funds across the categories to respond to things as they arise. “That would be necessary when we have minimal funding to meet the various standards of quality,” he said.
At an August meeting, the board voted to formally request lump sum funding instead of the categorical funding it receives from the Henry County Board of Supervisors.
Ben Gravely, who represents the Iriswood District on the school board, made the motion for Schools Superintendent Dr. Amy Blake-Lewis to formally request lump sum funding. The motion was supported by other school board members.
Blake-Lewis presented the request to the supervisors at an August 24 meeting.
Garrett Dillard, who represents the Iriswood District on the Henry County Board of Supervisors and also is employed as the school’s director of Community Learning, made a motion to switch from categorical to lump sum funding, “just to officially go on the record,” he said.
The motion died for the lack of a second.
“That really was the first time that we had made the request,” Blake-Lewis said. “The supervisors asked for us to put that in a formal request and so that is why the board took the action that they did at our last meeting is to vote for it to be a formal request, and that was what was presented to the supervisors at their most recent meeting.”
“The request came at the time that it became abundantly clear, with the state’s new minimum funding standard,” that the school division would receive minimum funding from the county, Martin said. “That’s functionally what the Henry County Board of Supervisors as our appropriating board chose to do – minimum funding,” he added.
Martin said he believes Henry County Schools is the largest school division in Virginia that is both minimally funded and categorically funded.
Martin said he was not surprised the board of supervisors didn’t vote for lump sum funding. Instead, his goal was to get the board on the record regarding the matter.
“From my perspective, it’s more a matter of being able, particularly if we’re going to go out here and say start a foundation, the logical question would be what funding do you need and why, right? And being able to show we are minimally funded and that we don’t have the flexibility from our appropriating body,” he said.
During discussions at the August 24 meeting, Martin highlighted what he believes is an erroneous comment that the school system is a county agency.
“We are not a county agency. If we were a county agency, Garrett Dillard couldn’t be on the board of supervisors. He can’t supervise himself,” Martin said. “We are not Parks & Rec. We are not the Sheriff’s Office, none of that. We are elected just the same” as county supervisors. “We are not a sub-board. Our supervisors are the people of Henry County as well as the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Despite the August denial, Martin said he believes lump sum funding will be brought up again in the future, particularly during the next budget cycle. However, he currently doesn’t anticipate a change.
“I don’t think the school system wants to engage in ‘Mother may I,’ nor do I think it’s particularly advantageous for them either,” Martin said.
“But we’re not planning on coming back when they have not shown really a willingness to consider it at this time,” he said, adding “that is their decision. They do have the option to do or not to do that, I do want to note that.”
