The Augusta County school division has slashed $13 million over the past three years, and faces the certainty of more cuts. But a group of parents and teachers says enough is enough - it's pushing county supervisors to close the gap.
One of the leaders of the "Support Our Schools" coalition says years of funding cuts are taking their toll in her daughter's elementary school. She points to seven-year-old computers and classrooms with up to 26 students.
The group has an online petition that has already gathered about 600 signatures. The coalition is urging Augusta County supervisors to increase their funding of public schools.
Right now, the superintendent points to a deficit of $4.5 million, mostly caused by higher costs and lower support from the state. County supervisors will get pressure to bridge the gap.
Jenny Hildebrand with the "Support Our Schools" coalition said, "We are just going to go at our supervisors. There's got to be a way to secure more funds. Currently our tax rate is 48 cents - that is the lowest in the region. If we don't do something about it now, the class sizes are going to increase and all of our kids are going to get lost in the shuffle."
Augusta supervisors are considering an increase in school funding of $1.1 million dollars, to offset losses from a change in the county's composite index.
That would still leave a deficit of at least $3 million, and the coalition hopes to convince supervisors to do more. Their campaign began Thursday night with a presentation to the Augusta County School Board.
