Schools squeezed in budget impasse

RICHMOND — The letter from Winchester Schools Superintendent Dennis Kellison to 350 teachers awaiting word on next year’s contract was blunt.

“The lack of a state budget prevents us from knowing the amount of revenue our school division will receive from the state and consequently developing a reliable school board budget,” Mr. Kellison wrote in explaining why contract offers will be late this year.

“If there is no state budget by June … we would be over $12 million short of our $35 million budget,” the April 14 letter continued.

The grim possibility of a one-third reduction in overall funding for Winchester schools, and similar cuts statewide, becomes more realistic every day as the House and the Senate remain deadlocked on a spending plan for the next two years.

The General Assembly is entering its sixth week of overtime because of the unprecedented budget impasse. Some state agencies and public schools are beginning to contemplate how they will respond if no agreement is reached by June 30, forcing a state government shutdown.

Mr. Kellison said that without state funds, Winchester schools are likely to have to lay off as many as 125 teachers and double class sizes, even though classes that large would violate state standards.

“We’re all in uncharted territory,” Mr. Kellison said. “I don’t see how we can be held to the standards if the state is not doing its part.”

State agency officials interviewed last week expressed confidence that a new budget will be enacted before the current one expires at the end of the fiscal year.

“Honestly, we expect that they are going to get it done,” said Barry Green, deputy secretary of public safety. “If we get much later on, we may have to do something.”

Although specific plans are not yet being drafted, officials are pondering the “what if” question.

“Any prudent agency has started to think about the things they would need to do in the event of a shutdown,” said Dan Timberlake, the Department of Education’s assistant superintendent for finance.

“Our ability to make definite plans is limited because we don’t know some of the things we’d need to know, like are we going to be permitted to have essential staff come in and perform certain functions,” Mr. Timberlake said.

At most agencies, the only action that has been taken is a review of notice requirements in contracts with vendors and service providers. The state attorney general’s office advised agency heads to begin that process a couple of weeks ago.

Officials said that if budget negotiations remain stalled and a government shutdown is imminent, they will turn to Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, for guidance.

“The question will be if there isn’t a budget, God forbid, by June 30, what are the rules we have to play under?” said state Social Services Commissioner Maurice Jones. “What will be the authority of the governor to operate certain functions of the government given this lack of a budget?”

That question is likely to be answered in court if the new fiscal year begins with no budget in place. Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore believes that the governor lacks constitutional authority to spend money without appropriations from the legislature, Kilgore spokesman Timothy Murtaugh said. Mr. Warner is not convinced.

“The governor is privately reviewing with legal counsel what his authority would be,” Warner spokeswoman Ellen Qualls said.

Mr. Jones said he would argue that his agency’s functions, including distribution of food stamps and services to needy children and elderly Virginians, must continue unabated for humanitarian reasons and to meet certain federal mandates. About two-thirds of Social Services’ $1.6 billion annual budget is federal money.

Further complicating matters is that local Social Services departments deliver most of the services and are reimbursed by the state. The fiscal year for the local departments ends May 30, so they are especially eager for a budget agreement, Mr. Jones said.

“They are dependent upon us having a budget so we can reimburse them in July for their June expenditures,” he said.

Patrick Finnerty, director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services, said the state’s 580,000 Medicaid recipients and 80,000 providers need not worry about losing benefits.

“We’re still contemplating that we’re going to have a budget,” he said. “We’re going to be in business.”