School board presents balanced FY2017 operating budget, proposes 3% pay increase

Chairwoman Martha Mugler presented the Hampton City Schools'recommended operating budget for FY2017 and said it aligns with the manager's recommended budget that council will review. "So this year, we're very pleased that we're offering a 3%, salary increase for all of our, full time and part time employees," Mugler said, framing the raise as part of compensation steps the division hopes will help recruitment and retention.

Mugler outlined the division's fiscal context since 2009, including a stated $24,000,000 decline in state funding around 2010'11 and a reduction of about 25% of the workforce over several years. She told council the board projects March average daily membership for 2017 at about 19,500 (a decline of roughly 200 students), and that the recommended operating budget of $200,450,417 is balanced against projected revenues. The presentation detailed expenditure pressures (health insurance up ~8.1% at about $1.2 million; VRS pension rate increases) and identified both savings and additions: roughly $5.58 million in additions (including eBackpack Chromebooks, two instructional coaches, five school security officers and support for academies) and reductions totaling about $518,897. Mugler and staff said some personnel reductions (for example, three elementary teachers and seven kindergarten instructional assistants) reflect projected enrollment declines and were, in several cases, offset by add-back positions such as instructional coaches or behavior specialists.

The school delegation asked council members to use the budget briefing to raise any concerns early so staff could incorporate them before the formal hearings and adoption process. The school team cited Weldon Cooper enrollment projections and state funding calculations based on the local composite index; Mugler told the council that a decrease in the composite index produced about $1.3 million more in state revenue for the division.