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Commissioners say matching funds available for Reedsville and Stoneville school grants; explain county—s role and recent tax changes
Summary
County commissioners said matching funds are available to support grant applications for elementary school improvements in Reedsville and Stoneville and explained the county—s operational funding role and a recent $3.25 million increase tied to a 7-cent reassessment change.
Commissioner Kevin Berger said the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners has funds available to serve as matching money for grant applications to improve elementary school facilities in Reedsville and Stoneville.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the county can provide matching funds for capital grants, but routine decisions about how schools spend recurring operational money are made by the school board and school administration.
Commissioner Kevin Berger said, "We do have available funds that we would be able to utilize, for our match portion and we look forward to applying for a grant, for both of those communities." He stressed the limits of the commissioners' authority over school operations: "The community misunderstands the process. The commissioners do provide money, but we don't designate how recurring funds are used. ... That's a school board and a school administration decision. The commissioners don't decide those type things."
Berger provided budget context: the county allocates about $19,000,000 for school operational needs. He said last year that amount was increased by $3,250,000. On property taxes, Berger said the county tax rate is 58.01 cents per $100 of assessed value and that roughly 30% of that rate is earmarked for school operational expenses — which he said equates to a little more than 17 cents per $100.
Commissioner Charlie Hall broke down a recent 7-cent increase tied to a reevaluation, saying, "3 cents of that 7¢ went to the schools. 2¢ of that went to the sheriff's department, and 2¢ went to the rest of the county administration for inflation and other costs." Hall said the increase represented the first school funding increase in roughly 15 years and described it as needed.
The board said it has started the budget process and intends to try to keep the tax rate low; the transcript did not include vote records or formal motions tied to the statements about available match funds or the breakdown of the recent tax change.
Requests for grant applications, specific project scopes, timelines for rehabs in Reedsville and Stoneville, and precise match amounts were not specified in the recorded remarks.
