Two days after the Albemarle County School Board agreed to send an unbalanced budget proposal to the Board of Supervisors, both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates unveiled their proposed state budgets. Delegate Rob Bell told the Daily Progress that a compromise between city and county officials could do the budgetary work instead of the amendment, which would move $2.8 million in funding from Charlottesville schools to Albemarle County schools.
With the Charlottesville City School Board preparing for a vote on a proposed budget on February 25 and the county’s proposed budget on its way to supervisors, Bell’s call for a county-city sit-down is timely. Amendment, or city-county negotiations? Share your thoughts on the revenue-sharing agreement and the proposed $2.8 million exchange below. (The complete text of the 1982 revenue sharing agreement is here, courtesy of cvillenews.com.)
Last week, Delegate David Toscano wrote to elected officials—among them, Bell, Senator Creigh Deeds and county supervisor Ann Mallek—to propose a public meeting to discuss "a wide variety of options for future cooperation," to be held as early as March 6.
"Some ideas may be reasonable and worthy of further exploration; others will be discarded quickly for a wide variety of reasons," wrote Toscano. "But all ideas should be heard." Toscano’s letter proposes possible meeting days from March 6 through April 29 on Saturdays and Thursdays.
