Waynesboro Schools up fuel budget

By Bob Stuart

Published: August 13, 2008

The Waynesboro School Board took immediate action Wednesday night to deal with increased vehicle fuel costs in the school district.
The board approved a $24,000 transfer of funds from a elementary teacher salary account with a surplus to pay for the increased bus fuel costs for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Waynesboro Schools Finance Director Bill Staton told the board that diesel fuel now costs $4.25 a gallon, and said Wednesday’s transfer will bring the total fuel budget to $115,000 for 2008-09.
Waynesboro Schools Superintendent Robin Crowder said the district had looked at efficiencies in bus routes, and said school field trips would also be monitored.
“We will still have them, but they may not be as far away,’’ he said.
Staton also had difficult news about the school district’s electric costs.
He said with the rate increase of just over 18 percent from Dominion Virginia Power as of July 1, the school district could be looking at electric costs well above its budgeted $590,000. The increase could be a six-figure one, he said.
But Staton cautioned waiting for a more complete picture on electricity before any further budget transfers.
“We just had the first real bill with the 18 percent increase, and I want to see how the summer goes,’’ he said.
The finance director told the school board that one of the factors adding to the district electric bill is Kate Collins Middle School.
This is the first full year of the renovated school, and the building is one and a half times larger than the previous Kate Collins.
Staton said Kate Collins is also being utilized after normal school hours by the community.
Staton said he anticipated coming back to the school board early next year to update them on the electrical costs.
Should a budget transfer be needed, he said the board could use money of about $100,000 each from surplus funds for teacher salaries or capital projects.
Meanwhile, the school board approved the naming of a maintenance/energy conservation committee.
Crowder said the committee will consider three companies to help with long-term energy reduction in the school district.
The committee, which includes two electrical engineers from Invista, will recommend one of the companies to the school board in September.
Also Tuesday, the school board received a preliminary report on the school district’s performance on the federal No Child Left Behind law during the past school year.
Laurie McCullough, said several mistakes in reporting the results are being dealt with by the Virginia Department of Education.
Those errors affect the status of Kate Collins Middle School, which McCullough said did make significant gains in math testing.
McCullough said the final report on No Child Left Behind should be available within the next two weeks.