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Members of the Lexington School Board were presented with the first draft of the 2023-24 budget during a work session on Jan. 10. Among the proposals for the upcoming fiscal year is an increase in salaries for many positions in the city’s school system.
All positions that adhere to the Virginia Department of Education’s Standards of Quality will receive a 5 percent increase in salaries thanks to funding approved in the state budget by Governor Youngkin.
In addition, Lexington Superintendent Rebecca Walters informed the School Board, the draft budget includes a similar increase for all staff.
The school system will also be implementing new pay scales for paraprofessional and service worker positions beginning July 1. Starting pay for paraprofessionals will be increased to $15 per hour and service workers’ starting pay will go up to $13.20 per hour. Salaries for current employees under those classifications will be adjusted accordingly, resulting in, by Walters’ estimate, a 14 percent increase in pay for most of those employees.
School Board chair Timothy Diette asked if it was possible for there to be more than a 5 percent increase for the staff, citing price increases due to inflation as a concern. Walters said that she and the school system’s business manager Erin Gregg would see what they could do.
In addition to a proposed increase in salaries, Walters noted that the proposed draft budget allows for several additional staff positions, including an additional paraprofessional and a full-time office aide at Waddell. The budget also includes money to potentially hire a part-time teacher to assist with the English Language Learners program. Since August, Walters reported, an additional 14 non-English speaking students have enrolled in Lexington City Schools, bringing the total number of students in the program to over 30.
The draft budget was built around an estimated enrollment of 630 students between kindergarten and 12th grade. Walters presented preliminary estimates for enrollment for the 2023-24 school year, noting a slight decrease in enrollment at Harrington Waddell Elementary School due to a large fifth grade class that will move up to Lylburn Downing Middle School. She is estimating an enrollment of 309 at Waddell and 176 at LDMS for next year, as well as 151 students from Lexington at Rockbridge County High School for a total estimated enrollment of 636. The current budget was built around an estimated enrollment of 626 students.
“I usually like to budget a little under what we think it’s going to be because I’d rather be on that end of finances than over budget,” she told the school board.
Gregg also noted a number of proposed expenses in the draft budget, including a 10 percent increase in the cost of health care premiums, an $8,000 increase for instructional supplies and an increase of $2,500 in public works expenses. She also noted that the final payment for the school bus lease would be made in the next fiscal year, an expense of $15,686.
At the top of the work session, Walters informed the Board of a number of upcoming capital projects for both Waddell and Lylburn Downing. At Waddell, a number of classrooms are going to be repainted, the school’s doors will need to be rekeyed and a new sound system will is needed for the school. At LDMS, the school’s milk cooler needs to be replaced, as do the security cameras. She also noted the need to purchase additional two-way radios for the schools.
Walters and Gregg will continue to work on the budget and will present an updated draft to the board in a work session prior to the Board’s regular meeting on Feb. 7 at the RCHS library.
