programs available to all students within
its 30 schools. School nurses and school resource officers
(SRO) are also not funded statewide. Daily bus transportation
for students, necessary renovations, and expanding the
facilities are also not covered through state funding. Roanoke
County Public Schools has invested 69 million dollars over the
past seven years in both new construction and renovations. This
pushes the annual debt payment to over 8.4 million dollars,
which must be paid with local funds. While Virginia is the 12th
largest state in terms of population and personal income, the
Commonwealth ranks 49th in its support of education, according
to the 2002 Congressional Quarterly Fact Finder. While the
federal government is not exempt in helping to educate its
children, their allotment equals less than one percent of the
total amount per student. Only $11 out of the total $7,960 is
provided
by the federal government.
by the federal government.
With fiscal crunches hitting schools
everywhere, funding even basic programs can be a challenge.
Fortunately a recent poll of registered voters conducted by the
Public Education Network and Education Week revealed that 67
percent of respondents said they want funding for public
schools protected from the budget cuts states will be making as
they deal with their fiscal crises, and would be willing to
consider new taxes if the money were earmarked for education.
For the last three years, a slow economy has left Virginia with
a series of large budget shortfalls leaving funding for
education in great danger. Although the pilot program conducted
by the best management practices division of the Virginia
Department of Planning and Budget was designed to help school
divisions realize greater efficiencies, it was also implemented
to identify good practices that can be shared with other school
divisions. These individual school system reviews are modeled
after successful programs in Texas and
Arizona.
Since its inception in 1991, the Texas program has conducted nearly 100 audits of public school districts and recommended net savings totaling $750 million dollars. The Texas program identified more than $40 million in savings over five years in the Brownsville Independent School District alone. Although Governor Warner proposed legislation to the 2004 Virginia General Assembly to provide regular efficiency reviews in at least 20 school divisions over the next two years, lawmakers approved funding that would enable approximately six small to medium sized jurisdictions to participate in an audit.
Since its inception in 1991, the Texas program has conducted nearly 100 audits of public school districts and recommended net savings totaling $750 million dollars. The Texas program identified more than $40 million in savings over five years in the Brownsville Independent School District alone. Although Governor Warner proposed legislation to the 2004 Virginia General Assembly to provide regular efficiency reviews in at least 20 school divisions over the next two years, lawmakers approved funding that would enable approximately six small to medium sized jurisdictions to participate in an audit.
For Roanoke County Public Schools, the
team was able to identify $294,816 in annual savings for the
school division. This figure equates to 0.23 percent of the
total school division budget. The report ultimately reveals
that Roanoke County is using its tax dollars wisely to educate
their 14,358 students and the $133 million that the school
division receives locally is well spent. Once the
recommendations were presented to the school board in April
2004, Roanoke County Public Schools immediately began taking
steps to implement some of the viable recommendations made by
the state audit team. In all, the 13 week process produced 16
recommendations in the areas of administration, educational
service delivery, human resources management, health insurance,
facility operations and maintenance, financial management,
transportation, information technology and purchasing. 
For more information:
Linda McLaughlin Scarborough
Community Relations Specialist
Roanoke County
Public Schools
Public Schools
5937 Cove Rd.
Roanoke, VA 24019
(540) 562-3900, ext. 262
lscarborough@rcsk12.va.us
