Marion Co., West Virginia, Schools officials share concerns with post-FY 2024 budgets

Thankfully, according to Marion County Schools Treasurer Scott Reider, assessed values across the county have risen, leading to an increase in tax collections of about $2 million.

In addition, federal COVID-19 funding, or ESSERF funding, is covering the rest of the employee pay increases for the year, at least the money that’s not already paid by the county’s excess levy.

However, Reider said there are concerns on the horizon, because although the FY24 budget is balanced, the ESSERF funding will be lost at the end of June 2024, meaning that the county will have to make up that deficit by either funding an additional $2.2 million in revenue just for personnel costs or by making cuts.

“It’s great that everyone gets a pay raise, and that’s beneficial, but at the same time, when you’re over the formula as much as we are, that pay raise is going to come out of our tax collections and other funds that we receive because the formula covers ‘x’ amount of people,” Reider said. “That’s a pretty big cost in addition to the increase of PEIA. The state has not allocated an additional support for even the employees we are funded by the state. ...

“State aid increased about $3.8 million. That’s a $2.2 million difference between what we have to pay and what we’re funded.”

However, funding personnel isn’t the only budget issue, Reider said. He added that food expenditures for the fiscal year jumped by $1.2 million to $3.6 million, $500,000 of which the county will have to pay on its own through ESSERF funding.

The county has saved about $1.9 million in personnel costs this year by reducing the number of positions in the school system that are over the state aid formula, but Reider pointed out that thanks to the wage and PEIA increases, the county didn’t really save all that much.

“We may have been able to trim some of what we are over the budget through attrition with retirements and transfers, but it’s almost offset by the increase in PEIA and what we’ll still be over the formula with the pay raise, food and insurance. ...

“We feel like we did a good job by picking up approximately $1.9 million in savings from personnel, but it’s eaten up in other areas by the things that happened this year.”

In all, the county is paying $3.9 million more than it did last year for salaries, PEIA premiums, food and more, money that will not be present for FY25. Reider said this is a cause for concern.

“The budget will look completely different because we will not have $3.9 million that we’re paying for out of ESSERF,” Reider said. “That’s just the fact of the matter. Decisions are going to have to be made. We’re going to have to drop (something). Is it personnel or some of the software that we’re buying? Those decisions will have to be made next year to help fill that $3.9 million gap that’s filled by ESSERF that won’t be filled anymore.”

Marion County Superintendent Dr. Donna Heston shared Reider’s concerns.

“We’re always conscious of where we’re at with the budget,” Heston said. “We’ve had to do a lot of work over the last couple of years. ... We did have this federal infusion of funds that we were blessed to have ... to put about 40 personnel positions into that we’re over the state aid formula. We need to get ours back in line, and I think the board has made a good faith effort in doing that. ...

“We started this process last year and made the board aware of our concerns, and we look to continue that in not just being conscious about the board spending on personnel, but on maximizing our dollars on projects and being sensitive to what is being added. ... That’s a good sign from this board that they’re listening to what Mr. Reider tells them.”