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Board hears proposal to place Jewel Labs and Altria settlement funds in categorical grant to support recovery school
Summary
CFO Crystal Pate told the board the division received $604,429.79 in settlements from Altria and Jewel Labs and recommended placing the funds into a categorical grant to preserve them for future use, including support for the recovery school; board members asked for more budget detail before a decision.
Crystal Pate, the division chief financial officer, told the board on April 8 that Virginia Beach City Public Schools received settlement payments totaling $604,429.79 during the fiscal year: $430,812.05 from an Altria settlement and $173,617.74 from Jewel Labs Inc. settlements. The funds are currently in the general fund and Pate said they must be used by the end of the fiscal year or they will be included in the year-end reversion calculation to the city.
Pate said the board previously voted to allocate Jewel settlement funds into the division’s categorical grant fund to support future development of a recovery school; placing the newly received payments into the categorical fund would preserve the money for carryover into future years. Pate said there are no legal restrictions on the funds’ use but asked for board guidance on whether to allocate them the same way going forward.
Board questions and context: Board members asked how long the funds might support the recovery school. Pate said she did not have full budget figures in front of her but noted a pending $1.5 million grant application with a decision expected by May 1 that could add funding. She estimated first-year recovery-school transportation costs of about $33,000 and said state appropriations would cover other first-year costs. Pate and staff said future years’ costs depend on program growth and any additional staff or agreements with partnering divisions.
No formal vote was taken April 8; Pate asked for direction from the board and said staff would accept follow-up questions by email. Board members requested additional budget detail and asked staff to provide clarifying information at a future meeting.
