Budget Woes May Delay High School's Opening

As Prince William County officials debate the next fiscal year's budget, one issue appears to be emerging as the major concern for school officials -- and it's not chronically low teacher salaries.

School officials are worried that the opening of the 11th high school in Prince William's western end, which many say would considerably alleviate crowding, may be delayed for yet another year, until 2012. That's because the Board of County Supervisors is indicating that it might not raise taxes enough to generate the revenue that school officials say is needed to build the school on time.

"I've been through overcrowding issues in Prince William before. We could have more trailers, staggered schedules," said School Board member Betty D. Covington (Dumfries). "I am in no way proposing year-round school -- we had it from 1971 to 1981 due to overcrowding -- but it did work."

Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said in an interview that he thinks taxes should be increased by about 3 percent. "What concerns me is this game sometimes played by bureaucrats, who say something like, 'If you don't raise taxes by a large amount, we'll shut down the Washington Monument, or if you don't raise taxes, we're going to push back that high school.' Well, that high school is a priority. It needs to be pushed up."

The high school, which is estimated to cost about $95.5 million and will be built in the Kettle Run area, will require more revenue than the supervisors have indicated is coming to be built as scheduled by 2011, school officials said.

Late last month, the supervisors recommended to County Executive Craig S. Gerhart that he propose a budget using a real estate tax rate of $1.008 per $100 of assessed value, which would raise the average tax bill by $327. Such an increase, if approved, would be a marked reversal from last year's tax rate, which resulted in bills that were lower than in the previous year.

It's far from clear whether the $1.008 tax rate will be approved, but the recommendation does give school officials a rough sense of where the supervisors are leaning. In April, supervisors will set a tax rate, which determines whether county revenue rises or falls. School spending derives from county revenue.

For some school officials, a $1.008 tax rate would not be enough to get the Kettle Run high school on the right path.

Two other factors also constrain school officials.

First, they have agreed for years to accept 56.75 percent of total county revenue, rather than fight annually for a different portion of the pie. Second, the county's borrowing abilities for major capital projects are constricted by a longstanding policy that does not permit debt payments to exceed 10 percent of total county revenue. Anything higher probably would imperil the county's AAA bond rating. That rating, which only a handful of counties in Virginia have, allows the county to borrow money at a cheaper rate.

School Board member Grant Lattin (Occoquan) said tax bills should be increased so that the amount of revenue gets bigger and the county can borrow more money for capital projects.

"The tax guidance that was set by the board of supervisors will be insufficient to finance the high school in the year we have it currently financed," he said.

Stewart said school officials need to trim administrative costs. But Lattin has said that the school system has the lowest administrative expenses in Northern Virginia. "We've provided those statistics to supervisors, yet people keep saying they have to be reduced," he added.

To some parents and voters, paying more in taxes is a divisive issue. Some think the school system's specialty schools and progressive programs, from all-day kindergarten to elementary International Baccalaureate programs, ensure high quality at a low cost.

Others, including some conservatives who voted for Stewart, don't mind paying a bit more if it means higher-paid teachers and less-crowded schools. "The school system is going to have to catch up because the county as a whole is catching up with everyone else," said Barb French, of Woodbridge, who has two children in the school system.