Public Hearing on Manassas Schools Budget is Tuesday

Manassas parents and residents can weigh in this week on the $106 million proposed Manassas City Public Schools budget for the 2013-2014 school year.

There is a public hearing and school board business work session on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Manassas City Hall.

Dr. Catherine Magouyrk, superintendent of Manassas schools, presented the budget to a packed audience and the school board on Feb 26 at Manassas City Hall.

View the entire budget presentation here.

Most of the money in the proposed budget— $87.75 million—will go toward the division's operations fund, she said.

The operation’s fund includes money for instruction and the 2 percent mandated pay raise, she said.

Magouyrk’s budget made no mention the elimination of .

The 111 positions were identified as being above what the state funds, Manassas City Public schools spokeswoman Almeta Radford said after the presentation.

That figure came about by following the Manassas City Public Schools outlined teacher to student ratio, Magouyrk said in an earlier report.

Based on that ratio, it appeared the school division is overstaffed by 111 positions, the superintendent added.

During the budgeting process, the principals in all eight of the division’s schools were asked to justify the existence of 12.9 division positions, Magouyrk said.

School division administrators and central office managers were also asked to look at every opportunity for potential costs savings, she said. The outcome was a proposed net reduction of 14.25 positions in central office.

That makes for a total of a little over 27 positions in the school division that could be reduced.

If any positions are eliminated, then the people in those positions could maintain employment in the school division by filling positions left open through attrition, Magouyrk said.

About 70 people leave the division each year, because of retirement, accepting positions elsewhere or other reasons, she said.

Administrators will look at the certifications of any displaced staff and see if they can be hired for any vacate positions, Magouyrk said.

The budget also called for eliminating  about 25 percent of the school division's transportation staff, according to a Washington Post report.

The elimination of 15 bus driver positions was made possible by adding a fourth school start time in the division, Magouyrk told the Post.

After her Feb. 26 presentation, school board officials applauded Magouyrk's efforts, saying that she was able to accomplish what hadn't been done in more than 20 years—a zero-based budget model.

School board members said she was able to do it in a relatively short period of time, as she started her job as the superintendent in August.

View the agenda for the Tuesday's school board business meeting here.