Updated
We asked Prince Willaim County Public Schools Associate Superintendent for Communications and Technology Services Keith Imon what could happen if the decades-old revenue-sharing agreement between the County School Board and Board of Supervisors changed:
As early as 1986, there was a revenue share in place. The current approach dates back to 1998 when the two boards created the formal agreement. It has evolved over the years with changes in the percent of the split in county revenue.For FY 2016, the School Division’s share of the revenue agreement is 57.23%, with PWCS receiving $507,302,048.
Even when the five-year budget plan is fully funded, it and the revenue sharing agreement are just a starting point. It is always a challenge to fund the School Division’s long list of critical unmet needs or to allow for significant new initiatives.
Eliminating or changing the revenue share would probably not require any changes to the way the School Division conducts most business. However, it could change the way the School Division approaches its budgetary planning process – perhaps lengthening the duration of the process and requiring the School Division to make budgetary decisions in the absence of a clearly understood county transfer of revenue. Uncertainty could make long-term planning more challenging for schools, staff, and parents.
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Peter Candland’s next target: A revenue-sharing agreement between his Board of Supervisors and the School Board.
The agreement is the mechanism put in place by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors — the elected officials that set the tax rate — to fund the county’s School Board.
Candland, who represents Gainesville residents on the Board of Supervisors, has long argued against the revenue-sharing agreement in its current form.
“The Revenue Sharing Agreement has been in place for nearly two decades and, as a result, Prince William County currently has the largest average class sizes in the Commonwealth, some of the lowest SOL, ACT, and SAT scores, and some of the lowest paid teachers in the region,” Candland stated in a press release. “This is a clear record of failing our kids in providing the quality of education they deserve.”
Candland plans the first in a series of town hall meetings on Thursday to discuss the revenue-sharing agreement. The Supervisor is requesting feedback from voters during the meeting slated to begin at 7 p.m. at Gravely Elementary School, located at 4670 Waverly Farm Drive in Haymarket.
The Board of Supervisors automatically transfers about 57% of its annual budget to the School Board, which may spend it however it wants. This year, the county sent $456 million to the school division, making up 46% of the school division’s $1.4 billion operating budget.
The county increased the amount of its funding by $21 million. Coupled with a state funding increase of about $17 million, the school’s overall operating budget this year saw about a $34 million increase.
The revenue-sharing agreement is not unique in Virginia — Albermarle County has a similar arrangement. It’s supposed to make things easier come spring budget season when leaders are working on annuals budgets, deciding what to expenses to fund, and by how much to fund them.
School Board member Alison Satterwhite, who also represents Gainesville District voters, said addressing the topic is a conversation worth having.
“I’ve talked to people who served on the School Board before the revenue-sharing agreement, and things between the two boards were contentious,” said Satterwhite. “I’ve also heard from people who say the revenue-sharing agreement is just a big cop-out for politicians.”
Virginia law mandates the School Board can spend its money how it wants, and it prevents the Board of Supervisors from selectively funding items in the School Board’s budget. While there may be room to modify the agreement, there may not be a need to toss it out altogether, added Satterwhite.
