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Buena Vista City Public Schools has updated its FY24 budget after receiving less money from the city than the School Board had initially asked for in its proposed budget. Discussed at the School Board’s monthly meeting in May, the division amended its 2023-2024 budget to reflect the allowances of the city and state’s current budget models.
BVCPS is administering employee contracts with 5 percent raises rather than the 7 percent raises it had been hoping for, and it is cutting two new positions it anticipated having next year – a media specialist for the elementary schools and a guidance counselor.
In the draft budget BVCPS took to Buena Vista City Council earlier this spring, the school district had asked for $215,000 of additional local funding, which it did not receive. If the division is somehow able to acquire additional funds either through the city or the state, its first action will be to add an additional guidance counselor position, said BVCPS Superintendent Dr. Tony Francis.
He told The News-Gazette, “We meet state guideline – we’re there [with three guidance counselors], but we really wanted four. If we get additional funding, we will definitely put the guidance counselor back in, we think it’s very important.”
Francis also plans to increase pay raises to 7 percent for all employees if the division happens to receive an increase in funding through the final state budget. While the division has already administered employee contracts with the 5 percent raise, it has been notated that contracts are subject to amendments.
“We’ve told all of our employees – we actually sent out our contracts this morning – in our contracts, it’s got the little notation that contracts will be amended based on state and local funding,” Francis said. “If state funding goes up, then we can maybe amend their contracts up to 7 percent [raises], if that’s possible.”
Francis hopes to learn more about the state’s possible funding by the end of June.
