Event details school funding

By ANDREA RUSSELL
For the Stafford County Sun
Published: September 17, 2008

STAFFORD — County parents and teachers gathered in Colonial Forge High School’s auditorium Sept. 11 to learn more about sources of school funding and how that money is spent.
“Funding a Place Called School” is a five-part series aimed to educate and inform Stafford County residents about the budget process and the financial circumstances of Stafford County Public Schools, said Valerie Cottongim, SCPS public information officer.
“We hope they will learn where the money comes from and how it is being spent,” Cottongim said.
Superintendent David Sawyer was the moderator for the first session, which began with the Colonial Forge Jazz Ensemble performing for visitors as they entered the school.
Sawyer then spoke about the importance of offering quality public education and preparing Stafford students for adulthood.
“A strong and effective public education is important. Every community has a vital, vital interest in its public education program,” he said. “All of us will be depending on the students in these classrooms.”
He noted there are about 15,000 school divisions in the United States. Also, they average six schools per division. Stafford County’s public school system — the 10th largest in the state — consists of 30 schools, which house more than 26,380 students.
“Our goal is to provide a quality learning experience for every student on every school day,” Sawyer said.
The county schools’ operating budget for fiscal 2009 is $246.3 million. Sawyer asked the audience to participate in an activity that would help demonstrate how the schools system spends these funds.
Audience members received “shopping lists,” on which they were asked to write what they felt was important in creating a quality public school system. Some audience members then used a microphone near the stage to voice their most important “shopping items.”
Stafford residents Ric and Dana Stonesifer, along with their son, Christopher — a first-grader at Falmouth Elementary School — stood on stage with a shopping cart. Every time someone stated what they felt was important to “buy,” a Colonial Forge drama student brought out a box and placed it in the shopping cart.
Audience members’ suggestions included quality teachers, equal technology equipment in all schools, updated buildings, competitive educational programs, safe transportation and more classroom supplies.
With every suggestion, Patty Sullivan, SCPS director of budget and grants, would display the amount spent on each item on a large screen.
To demonstrate where the schools’ funding comes from, drama students brought out large pieces of cardboard, cut to resemble pieces of pie.
Sawyer described each source of revenue as the students brought out the slices of pie. The piece made to represent federal funding was very thin; it makes up less than 1 percent of the schools’ budget.
The pieces of pie were also used to illustrate expenditures. Two students had to carry the largest cardboard piece, which was cut to represent the more than 85 percent of the budget that is spent on compensation and benefits.
After the demonstrations, Sullivan spoke about the process of creating a new budget each year. From analyzing more than 10,000 account code lines to preparing documents, to public hearings and joint work sessions, she gave a month-by-month description of the work that goes into preparing and creating the budget.
“Budgets are not created by chance or isolation. We collect as much information as we can and evaluate each piece,” Sullivan said. “As you can see, it’s a year-round process.”
The second “Funding a Place Called School” session, moderated by SCPS Deputy Superintendent Andre Nougaret, was scheduled to take place Thursday.
All the forums will be held at 7 p.m. at Colonial Forge High School. On Oct. 2, Janette Martin, president of Stafford Education Association, will speak. On Oct. 9, the discussion will focus on the capital budget and the Oct. 16 session will focus on the costs of compensation and benefits.
“Overall, the session flowed nicely. We received numerous positive comments regarding the visuals and the student involvement,” Cottongim said. “We hope attendance will be higher for future sessions. We understand that the families in Stafford County are very busy this time of year with athletic activities, homework and other life responsibilities.”
In order to reach more Stafford residents, the presentations will be aired on local education cable channel 18 on Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 p.m.
For more information on Stafford County Public Schools or its budget, call (540) 658-6000 or visit staffordschools.net.

Andrea Russell is a contributing writer at the Stafford County Sun.