Superintendent outlines Charlotte County schools budget, flags state tax error and teacher pay concerns

Superintendent Robbie Mason presented the Charlotte County Public Schools proposed budget at a joint budget work session with the Board of Supervisors on March 16, 2023, saying enrollment is essentially unchanged from last year and that the budget is built on the district’s average daily membership.

Mason said enrollment was 1,672 students this year, compared with 1,674 the prior year, and that the district’s average daily membership — the figure used to calculate state aid — is 1,583. He described the local 1% sales tax as “incredibly beneficial” and said the division is saving those proceeds for capital-improvement projects.

The superintendent summarized recent capital work paid for with federal CARES funds, including new windows at Randolph-Henry High School and a new chiller at Central Middle School, and other CIP projects. He said CCPS was awarded a grant of more than $1 million for electric school buses expected to arrive in 2024 and that the district anticipates fuel-cost savings of about 20 percent from the transition to electric vehicles.

Mason reviewed student performance on Standards of Learning exams, citing district-level percentages presented at the meeting (English reading ~75%, English writing ~63%, math ~73%, science ~70%) and noting the division’s relatively strong regional placement on those measures.

He told supervisors that Charlotte County teachers remain the lowest paid in the region and noted an external ranking (www.nitch.com) that listed CCPS among the better places to teach in Virginia and nationwide. Mason said addressing teacher salaries is a priority for the next budget year and that some administrative positions also fall below regional averages.

Mason also raised a state-level complication: he said a “grocery tax calculation error” made by the Commonwealth affected CCPS’s proposed budget figures. He said the district cannot finalize its budget until the General Assembly corrects or reconciles that calculation, and that the version he would submit to the county by March 31 may need to be amended once the state budget is finalized.

Chairman Gary D. Walker praised student performance under tight local funding, and County Administrator Daniel N. Witt reiterated that the 1% sales tax has helped and that proceeds are being set aside for future capital projects. With no further discussion the session was adjourned.

The superintendent said he would submit the proposed budget to County Administrator Witt by March 31, 2023; Mason emphasized the submission could change depending on the state budget outcome.