Everything’s been on the table for non-government people for years.
Next year is going to be an interesting budgetary year. Brandon Shulletta writes in today’s Daily Progress:
School division leaders drafting budget requests are also wondering whether next year’s supervisors are more likely to maintain the current real-estate tax rate of 74.2 cents per $100 of assessed value or increase the rate to 77.2 cents — two options officials have keyed on. At the 77.2-cent rate, county heads project that the average homeowner would pay the same real-estate taxes next year as under this year’s rate because assessed home values are declining.
No matter how it’s framed, that’s still raising taxes.
Brandon covers a lot of ground, including the Charlottesville-Albemarle revenue sharing agreement.
Albemarle County assessments are going to be a hotly-debated topic this year.
Rather than complain about or note how ridiculous it is for local governments to decide how much they are going to spend before they know what their actual income is going to be, I’d rather come up with possible solutions.
The current Albemarle County School budget is here; the proposal for the 2011 Fiscal Year doesn’t come until January.
What are your ideas for reducing the Albemarle County School budget, without negatively impacting our childrens’ educations?
– Fewer bus stops? Have all the kids meet at the front of the subdivision.
– What impact would year-round schooling have on the budget?
– How much money would be saved by turning off lights methodically and religiously? Are they already using CFLs?
– Print less
– Make less copies and have the students take more notes.
Kids should be picked up at the entrance to subdivisions not because it’ll save money (it won’t, at least not meaningfully—bus drivers are paid poorly, and that’ll save very little fuel), but because kids are fatter and lazier than ever. I had a 3/4 mile walk to my bus stop when I went to Western, and I’d frequently get off at Maupin’s and walk a couple of miles home. I few times I actually walked to school (13 miles), just to make a point.
Turning off lights “methodically and religiously” would be a terrible idea, if they’re using florescent bulbs (which they almost all are)—the life of florescent bulbs, compact or otherwise, is shortened dramatically by turning it off on and off frequently. Any room where you intend to toggle the lights frequently shouldn’t have CFLs, but instead incandescent bulbs, for that very reason.
I absolutely agree about kids being picked up at centralized bus stops, and think the benefits far outweigh the negatives. They might gain a little bit of independence, meet their neighbors, save gas and money …
Thanks for correcting my light bulb ideas.