Fluvanna County supervisors are getting ready for another round of budget battles Wednesday as they prepare to sit down and hopefully hash out what to do about opening the new high school. There is even more tension on the issue after a proposed plan was promptly opposed by school board members, and as a result, taken off the table.
Fluvanna's school board and Superintendent Gena Keller met behind closed doors Monday to talk over potential budgets. The board now plans to ask supervisors for 1% of its operating budget, totaling about $650,000. School board members say that would be enough to open the doors of the new high school, but still require significant cuts to career and technology programs.
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Fluvanna County Board Of Supervisors Vice Chair Bob Ullenbruch came up with an alternative that would have reallocated $1.4 million budgeted for a new 911 system, and put that money toward education.
Related Article However, Ullenbruch retracted that suggestion after significant criticism from school board members.
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In a statement to NBC29, Ullenbruch says his offer is "no longer a possibility and it is 100% off the table". He goes on to say Fluvanna County "will not have the funds in 2014 to replace $1.4 million and find replaceable funding for schools." Ullenbruch concluded that he is not aware of any changes to the original budget proposal from supervisors, which he says is sustainable over the next three years.
The Board of Supervisors meets at 7 p.m. at Central Elementary School. That's where the school board plans to present its latest budget proposal. Depending on what happens Wednesday night, supervisors could reconvene Thursday morning to continue work on the budget.
A grass roots organization called Focus on Fluvanna's Future will hold a rally right before the meeting at Central Elementary. They are hoping supervisors not only give funding to the schools, but also to JAUNT and the Jefferson Area Board for Aging whose funding has been eliminated.
