Ten thousand PWC school employees to get step increase

The Prince William County School Board voted 5 to 3 March 28 to approve an $861 million operating budget. The board directed Superintendent Dr. Stephen Walts to find $5 million in new spending cuts to cover the cost of a step increase to employees on the current pay scale.

Budget approval came a week later than originally expected, as board members debated how best to enhance pay increases. The new plan builds on the foundation of the spending reductions originally proposed to pay for an across-the-board raise in the budget plan rejected during last week’s board mark-up session.

The step will provide an average 2.85 percent pay hike. The actual percentage will vary according to each employee’s position on the current pay scale. All employees will receive another 1 percent increase. This will offset the cost of a new state mandate requiring each PWCS employee to make a 1 percent contribution to the Virginia Retirement System over the upcoming school year.

The immediate challenge for the School Division will be finding $5 million in cuts beyond those already included to fund pay increases in the Superintendent’s previous proposal.  Walts was quoted in a news release as saying, “We will make every effort not to lay off any employee.”

There are still some unknowns in the revenue forecasts. The approved school budget goes to the Board of County Supervisors for action. The supervisors are slated to vote on tax rates in late April. The tax rates advertised last month can still decrease, but not increase, meaning PWCS could face further shortfalls. How much funding PWCS will receive from the state hinges on final General Assembly action on the state budget. This legislative action could still require adjustments to the spending plan, according to Kavits.

Board members also approved an amendment March 28 directing the Superintendent to use any additional funds the school division receivs during the upcoming fiscal year toward reducing class sizes and/or adjusting the budget-diminished Capital Improvements Program, according to future Board directions. The Prince William County Board and the Superintendent reiterated their intention that the spending plan continue to provide a “World-Class” education, said Kavits.

The school board approved the step increase based on a 7.5-hour instructional day, rather than the 7-hour instructional day now in effect. Kavits said the 7.5-hour instructional day is standard in most Northern Virginia localities including Fairfax, Arlington and Loudoun counties and Manassas and Manassas Park cities and reflects more closely working time spent by instructional personnel.