"Reducing the real-estate tax rate likely would force the Albemarle County school division to cut programs and staffing, Superintendent Pamela Moran and two School Board members told the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, prompting some supervisors to question the feasibility of a 6-cent rate cut.

If the county were to cut the rate from the current 74 cents per $100 assessed value to 68 cents, a figure suggested by several supervisors, the schools could lose $2.95 million in this year’s budget and $5.2 million in next year’s, the school delegation warned.

Because Albemarle County collects taxes twice each year, in December and June, a rate cut in next fiscal year’s budget would affect school funding this school year, Moran said.

School Board members Diantha McKeel and Stephen Koleszar said that a 6-cent cut would eliminate new initiatives, such as adding four math specialists, and more importantly, hurt teachers’ salaries and hiring.

“At a 68-cent tax rate, it is very possible that we would have to eliminate some positions or not fill some positions,” McKeel said, adding that the deadline to send out contracts to teachers is April 15. “We’re just showing you the urgency that we feel. I will say that all the School Board members, and certainly Dr. Moran, feel that there is an ethical and moral obligation to uphold, and this is not the time to be sending teachers out looking for jobs. We’re very concerned at how a lower tax rate could affect our people.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Kenneth C. Boyd said that while “no one wants to reduce anyone’s spending,” he does not want to overburden local property owners. County property assessments rose an average of 30 percent in the last two years, and if the county does not reduce the rate, homeowners will see a corresponding increase in their tax bills.

“What we’re seeing here is a gradual decline in the amount of money that the state is providing for education, but it’s not just that. It’s a decline in the amount they’re providing for transportation and for roads. I’m struggling with how much more we can pile this obligation on to our local populous.”

The percentage of total school revenues contributed by the state was 31.2 percent this fiscal year and would be 30.1 percent for next. In the 1990-91 budget year, the state contributed 40 percent.

Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker summarized the dilemma he and his colleagues face.

“That trend seems to be continuing,” Rooker said, “and it puts those services that were funded by the state on the backs of property taxes. On the other hand, we have homeowners who would like to see their taxes adjusted because the assessments have gone up over the last couple of years.”

Many in the community, including the Albemarle Republican Committee, have said the county needs to reduce the tax rate significantly to keep from placing an unfair burden on homeowners. A rate of 58 cents, the group says, would give the county slightly more real estate revenue than it had this fiscal year and keep most homeowners’ bills from going up.

After hearing the effect that a 6-cent real estate tax cut could have on the schools, Supervisor Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr., one of the three supervisors who supported a budget based on 68 cents, said he would support a 70-cent rate, calling the previous figure “Draconian.”

At a news conference at the County Office Building on Wednesday morning, teachers and PTO leaders said that the schools’ value in the community should be reflected with full budget funding.

“To cut funding to the schools at this point would be ludicrous,” said Steve Gissendanner, Albemarle Education Association president and fifth-grade teacher at Woodbrook Elementary. “The schools are one of the main reasons people want to live in this area. The schools are one of the main reasons developers can sell houses so well in this area, and yes, the schools are one of the reasons why real estate assessments are rising in this area. We are successful.”

Ashby Kindler, principal at Stone-Robinson Elementary, said that not fully funding this year’s school budget would be a step backward.

“The proposed tax rate of 68 cents or even 70 cents … threatens to take Albemarle County back, perhaps as much as 20 years,” Kindler said.

Concerned residents packed Lane Auditorium at the County Office Building on Wednesday night at the supervisors’ meeting, and most residents who spoke voiced concerns about possible school cuts.

“If you were to cut taxes,” said Tracy Walker, a teacher at Henley Middle School, “the lesson being heard loud and clear is that schools don’t matter.”

The School Board will meet Tuesday to discuss budget priorities and at 1 p.m. Wednesday with the Board of Supervisors to continue budget discussions.

County Executive Robert W. Tucker Jr. said that the supervisors must decide on a real-estate tax figure by Wednesday so it can be publicized before the public hearing on the tax rate in April." (Matt Deegan, The Daily Progress, March 15, 2007)

Daily Progress staff writer Jeremy Borden contributed to this story.