By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 5, 2005; VA03
The Alexandria City Council voted Monday to give city schools $2.06 million less than the $165.8 million the school system had requested for its fiscal 2006 budget. The City Council's decision, made as part of its vote on the city's budget, marked the first time since the mid-1990s that city funding has fallen significantly short of what the School Board requested. In recent years, the school system has received increases in city funding ranging from 4.5 percent to 8 percent, while enrollment has declined slightly -- from 11,100 students in 2000 to a projected 10,590 in fiscal 2006. The announcement, coming as city residents face soaring property taxes, was disappointing but not surprising, School Board members said. "The climate is a little different in terms of the taxpayer push back this year," said board Vice Chairman Mary "Mollie" Danforth. "I think the council is responding to that." The school system's proposed budget, which represents a 5 percent increase over last year's, includes $3.4 million for step increases for eligible employees, a $1.26 million increase for employee health insurance, and a required $575,000 contribution to the Virginia Retirement System. It also includes 36 new staff positions -- 13 of which are classroom teachers while six are paraprofessionals or instructional aides. Some council members and residents had publicly questioned the school system's need for more staff, since enrollment is declining. They also asked why the district needs to add an assistant superintendent for public information at an annual salary of $166,426, and an academic counselor for athletes at T.C. Williams, at a cost of $69,021. The assistant superintendent's job is slated to be filled by longtime T.C. Williams Principal John Porter. When city officials first hinted that they might cut the school system's request, they suggested the district save money by cutting $300,000 from non-classroom positions and $700,000 from the proposed increase in health and retirement benefits. But Superintendent Rebecca L. Perry, who will make her own suggestions to the School Board based on the city's allocation, said making any cuts will be hard. "I wouldn't have asked for anything I don't need," Perry said, adding that non-classroom positions, although less visible than teachers, were vital. "Somebody's got to run the buses, answer all the FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] requests and make sure the custodians get paid.'' Perry said the last thing she would touch is money for classroom teachers. She said she also plans to preserve the pension fund increases and money to move Mount Vernon Elementary to a modified school calendar this fall. At a projected cost of $396,877, the Mount Vernon schedule change is the biggest new initiative in the budget. "I will do everything that I can to not undo the progress that we've made," she said. Several School Board members said the increased pension benefits are crucial to retaining staff in an area that is expensive to live in and that is close to other school systems offering competitive benefits. They added that school employees' benefits are less generous than those given city workers. The $1.26 million earmarked for increased health benefits will help bring school employees' benefits closer to what city workers get, but it would take an estimated $1 million more to bring them to the same level, board Chairman Mark O. Wilkoff said. "It's outrageous that the city has such better benefits for their employees than we do," said School Board member Sally Ann Baynard. "If you cut benefits to employees and staff, the damage to the system is incalculable." School Board members also stressed the importance of the non-classroom positions, noting that Porter's job will cover a wide range of duties including press relations, community outreach and Web site development. Regarding the new academic counselor at T.C. Williams, they noted that the schools system's requirement that student athletes maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA makes it hard for some athletes to stay in school. "We weren't just trying to make up jobs here," said board member Melissa W. Luby, adding that the city had been more forgiving toward its own budget. "I'm a little disappointed with the city. I understood that the city manager had asked the council not to make many adds, and as I understood it, a lot of pork-barrel things were added." Danforth added, "They want us to curtail our budget, but we're sort of like, 'You go first.' It's not fair to Alexandria's schools to cut them when the city isn't cutting, too." Luby said the city's rising property values, which are responsible for the higher taxes, have come about in part because of Alexandria's well-regarded schools. "It won't do anyone any good to have a bunch of unaccredited schools," she said, adding, "It just happens to take money to educate kids." The School Board will discuss ways to absorb the cuts at its meeting tonight and expects to have a revised proposal in the next month. Tonight's meeting is at 7:30 in the Board Room, 2000 N. Beauregard St.