Budget Update and Messaging Tips to Advocate for Investing in Charlottesville Public Schools
February 15, 2024 — CUPE representatives attended the joint Charlottesville City Council School Board Budget Work Session last week. We were pleased with the thoughtful questions and conversation, and we thank Council and School Board members along with community members who attended – and especially to the teachers who spoke during public comment to express their lived reality in our schools and the dire need for additional funding.
As a reminder, here’s the status:
CCS is predicting a shortfall of about $3M from the state
The City budget guidelines allocate 40% of personal and real estate taxes (about $67M for next year) to the schools
The division is requesting about $9M in additional funds (beyond the $67M allocation) to cover the lost funds from the state plus additional funds to support continued impact from the pandemic and an increase in student enrollment. Originally CCS had planned for a $12M ask but scaled back.
Upcoming Meetings:
February 15: CCS is hosting a public budget work session to further refine their budget and request to City Council. Attend in person at Walker Upper Elementary or virtual. Register in advance.
March 5: CCS will present their budget to City Council for approval
Action Item: Ask City Council to fully fund CCS’s amended request for $9M.
To send comments to City Council, email council@charlottesville.gov
To send comments to the School Board, email schoolboard@charlottesvilleschools.org. Call out to the School Board anything you think deserves priority consideration in their budget decisions.
Here are some messaging points to consider based on last week’s budget meeting:
A welcoming community needs well-funded schools. In Charlottesville we pride ourselves on being a welcoming community, and that is certainly reflected in the diversity of our CCS student population. Our schools serve more than 700 multilingual learners from 41 countries who speak English as a second, third, or even fourth language. The top languages? Spanish, Swahili, Dari, Pashto, Arabic. That number is projected to grow to about 900 students by next spring. We must fund a robust English Language Learners (ELL) program to accommodate these students and increase overall funding in line with our growing school enrollment.
Affordable housing brings more students to our schools. Affordable housing is a top priority in Charlottesville. It also impacts our schools. As we create more places for people to live in the City, we need to factor in the families and future families that – we hope – will enroll their children in our public schools.
This Daily Progress op-ed from 2022 (co-authored by current School Board member Shymora Cooper) is a good read on the connection between schools and housing. “A community that invests in its children through the public school system and housing builds a strong, functional, and thriving community.”Let's fund a "school system of choice." Dr. Gurley referenced striving to be the "school system of choice" and we couldn’t agree more. When people move to Charlottesville or current residents decide to start a family here, we want the default to be enrolling their kids in Charlottesville public schools – not surrounding counties or private options. That takes proactive, intentional and increasing investment - especially as we work to overcome pandemic learning setbacks and address heightened mental health concerns.
Move from default subs to site-based substitutes. A top need identified by CCS – and echoed in teacher comments last week – is funding for site-based substitute teacher positions at each school. If your student has dealt with a series of rotating substitutes or you’ve heard of other teachers, specialists and staff being pulled from their intended (and contracted) jobs to be classroom subs, speak up in favor of funding site-based subs. This will provide consistency for our students and help with teacher retention.
Don't deplete our reserves. CCS indicated they should have a fund balance of approximately $12M. They currently have $4M in reserves and, without additional City funding, would tap into that to cover key items in the budget.
Let's step it up Charlottesville. CCS shared findings from the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) 2022 Comparative Cost Report illustrating that cities across the state of Virginia spend about 12% more on education than we do in Charlottesville.
Please consider pairing any of these messages with your own experiences as a parent, teacher, student or concerned community member. A short but authentic note will carry much more weight than a form letter!
To send comments to City Council, email council@charlottesville.gov
To send comments to the School Board, email schoolboard@charlottesvilleschools.org