Superintendent Rob Smith released the 2006 fiscal year budget for Arlington Public Schools Thursday, highlighting new spending initiatives aimed at closing the student achievement gap and granting higher pay for teachers.
"We developed this budget with one underlying goal: to continue building momentum for instructional excellence and student success," Smith said. "Since the adoption of our current Strategic Plan in 1999, the School Board has instituted a number of successful initiatives to achieve its goals of raising student achievement for all students and eliminating gaps in achievement for black and Hispanic students."
The $363.2 million budget — up 1.4 percent over 2005 — will be reworked in the coming months during a series of public work sessions. The next will be at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 16, at the Arlington Education Center. Most spending in the current draft, about 97 percent, is dedicated to maintaining existing services and programs. Yet the focus on student achievement gets extra attention with new funding, $100,000, to replace lost federal money for GEAR UP, a program designed to increase the number of students who apply for college. More than $79,000 will also be allocated to create Saturday school programs at four schools for students suspended from class. For prekindergarten students, the budget offers more than $60,000 for extended daycare before and after school hours. The money will also be used for added bus services. Summer school programs are also getting a boost, with $99,000 in funding for classes and administrative support to serve the roughly 1,500 students who attend classes during the season.
SOME ARLINGTON teachers will get a raise this year, as the school district increases its salary schedule by 8.1 percent. If the budget is approved, the starting salary for a teacher with a master's degree will total $45,000. A total of $6.3 million will go toward teacher salaries.
"The single most important factor in addressing these goals and in this budget resides in the focus on maintaining a competitive educational advantage by attracting and retaining excellent teachers," said Smith.
Other school district employees will also get some added pay this year. A 3-percent raise is expected for all school workers other than teachers.
Other increases in spending include about $262,000 to accommodate student transfers resulting from the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and new testing materials for the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, which it also requires. Arlington schools currently spend about $1 million to meet NCLB standards along with the additional cost of paying staff for the extra time associated with it. The district spends $300,000 just to meet NCLB testing requirements. The budget indicates these expenses could rise in the coming year.
The budget reveals some uncertainty for the future stemming from higher than expected construction costs and reductions in the county's tax rate.
SCHOOL BOARD members addressed their questions on the budget during the first work session on Saturday. Closing the achievement gap, according to Frank Wilson, is one of the top priorities, but added funding may not be the silver bullet.
"That's my main concern, how we use our resources to close the achievement gap," Wilson said. "The most important thing is the product that comes out of the system. It would be easy to resolve if it were just an Arlington problem, but that's not the case."
Retirement benefits for teachers and staff, said Mary Hynes, also need to be reviewed because the current plan only accounts for employees hired within a certain time frame.
"I'd like to see a different run on these numbers," Hynes said. "I've been listening very closely to all of this federal discussion on Social Security. I want us to be in a strategic position that gives us some strength for our employees."
Hynes also raised questions about student health, inquiring about an expected funding supplement to do away with the current line of vending machines in schools and replace them with ones that offer healthier alternatives.
"I continue to hear this talk about healthier eating habits," Wilson said. "But then I look at the role models, the parents and what they are bringing home from the grocery store. If kids are going to begin eating better, that has to start at home."
The latest draft of the budget is available on the Web at http://www.arlington.k12.va.us/finance/budget/fy2006_budget.html.
The School Board is expected to adopt the budget on Tuesday, April 12. It will come before the Arlington County Board for approval on May 19.