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“Our schools are the backbone of the community. For the community to be prosperous and successful, our schools have to be first-rate. That attracts industry, that attracts new families,” said Allen “Mac” Felts, running for reelection to the Buena Vista School Board.
Felts attended high school in Buena Vista, then Randolph Macon College. As a School Board member, he hopes to replicate his experience for current Buena Vista students.
“I am most proud of the fact that I have not lost sight of my primary intent, which is to ensure the most complete and challenging educational experience for the students of Buena Vista. That is the reason that I chose to run for the School Board,” he said.
“I want those youths to have a similar experience to what I had, way back when, which was a very complete and very challenging educational experience that allowed you to leave 12th grade and be successful out in the world.”
If reelected, Felts would focus on facilities, with a goal of bringing the city’s three elementary schools into one.
“Our three elementary schools are between 50 and 100 years old. They are out of date,” he said. “We need to create a K-7 consolidated elementary facility with the most technological advances, the most complete safety devices, and an environment that will help us attract highly qualified teachers.”
While the initial cost will be high, Felts believes it will save the city money in the long term, citing an audit from 2021.
“We are currently paying triple heat, cooling, electric, bussing, nutrition, and staffing. That audit clearly demonstrated that we could save $1.4 million out of the current budget. Now that won’t solve a new mortgage on a building that is probably going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $45 to $55 million. But it would go a long way to assisting an additional mortgage over a 30-year period to look at completing a new building,” he said.
The main challenge will be finding the funding, for this project and for improving teacher pay.
“The biggest challenge right now is to find a way to consolidate the three elementary schools into a new facility. In addition, to being able to elevate our starting salary scale. And they go hand in hand, because both require funding, and funding is an ongoing problem with City Council,” Felts said.
Lack of funding has led to Buena Vista falling behind other divisions on teacher’s salaries.
“Three years ago, Buena Vista was the lowest school division on starting salary for teachers, 132 out of 132, for the state. Currently, we are third or fourth from the bottom, we have made some slight advances, but in order for us to provide the best foundation for our students, we must attract and retain highly qualified teachers,” he said.
Despite this, Felts believes the strength of Buena Vista’s schools is its teachers.
“Is it amazing to me, the number of Parry McCluer students who leave here, entering the educational curriculum pursuits, and come back here to teach. It’s an amazing number. And that speaks to the loyalty, to the community that our students and pupils have, that they want to remain a part of,” he said.
“There’s a great love for Buena Vista schools, and there is an undying dedication on behalf of the staff. Our staff go to work each day, most of them knowing that there are greater financial opportunities not far away. And they continue to be dedicated to this community. That is a great source of pride.”
