Todd Cason

VALDOSTA – While schools traditionally adopt the next fiscal year budget in the spring, the Valdosta Board of Education finance committee spent a recent evening grappling with pandemic funding concerns.

And the possibility of starting a new school year in a less than traditional way.

The pandemic has left schools “planning towards the worst and praying for the best,” said Dr. Todd Cason, superintendent of Valdosta City Schools, during a live stream Facebook meeting of the finance committee.

The committee saw the first draft of the Fiscal Year 2021 budget; however, without revenue numbers from the state, the budget is built with the plan of a 14% reduction. The percentage could be lower or higher once final numbers are available.

“We still really don’t know what the hard reduction is going to look like for us until the General Assembly adopts the budget in a few weeks,” Cason said.

The CARES act, a discretionary emergency relief fund, will offset some of the reduction and, according to a House budget brief sent from the governor’s office, more relief will be requested.

Currently, the Valdosta finance committee hopes it will not have use more cost-saving measures, such as furlough days. Cason said the city school system has been operating well with the current number of employees.

“What we are operating on now staff wise has worked and is working well so we will continue that same operational practice next year,” Cason said. “We wanted to add a couple of positions; however, we just could not afford to do that right now so we just postponed some things until the economy changes.”

Other large projects, such as the Centegix security system, will be put on hold.

Enrollment numbers are a concern. School officials said growth is stagnant with concerns that parents may not want to send their children back to school – a move that could affect state funding.

While Valdosta City Schools offers some online options, it does not have a full-fledged virtual academy.

“Keep in mind also that what I’m hearing from Atlanta is that legislators are talking about pushing the start date back until after Labor Day which gives doctors and researchers more time to develop a vaccine,” Cason said. “That’s just what I’m hearing but what we are going to plan to do is plan three scenarios.”

The three scenarios would be a traditional start to school, a virtual start and a hybrid start, with the hybrid start being a combination of both virtual and traditional.

Cason added there are many other concerns currently being considered, such as school buses, additional disinfecting, purchasing personal protective equipment for staff and if students would be required to wear masks.

“The planning is just beginning,” Cason said.

He said much like the great recession, we may only be in the first year and the COVID-19 response could last into a second and even a third year.

The committee may not see set numbers from the state until the end of June or early July. Because of this, a spending resolution was discussed which would give the superintendent power to use funds for projects not to exceed one-twelfth of the final amended budget.

Desiree Carver is a reporter at the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be reached at (229) 244-3400 ext. 1215.