COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 69
April 18, 2003
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Summary of
Changes to the 2002-2004 Biennial Budget at the 2003 Reconvened (Veto)
Session |
On April 2, 2003, the 2003 Session of the General Assembly reconvened to consider changes proposed by Governor Warner to the amended 2002-2004 biennial budget adopted earlier this year during the regular session of the legislature. Details of the General Assemblys actions were provided to you in Regulatory Superintendents Memorandum No. 3, dated February 28, 2003.
Attachment A to this memorandum provides a summary of the changes
proposed by Governor Warner and the actions taken by the General Assembly in
response to the Governor's proposed amendments to the 2002-2004 biennial
budget. These actions are noted in
Attachment A as either "General Assembly Action - Adopted" or
"General Assembly Action - Rejected."
The most important action pertains to funding for the
compensation supplement account in fiscal year 2004, which provided
contingent funding for a 2.25 percent salary increase effective on January 1,
2004. Governor Warner proposed an
amendment to eliminate language that made the compensation supplement
contingent on general fund revenues generated in fiscal year 2004. This amendment was adopted by the General
Assembly at the reconvened session. As
a result, the compensation supplement payment for fiscal year 2004 is no longer
based on a contingent appropriation.
It is recommended that school divisions anticipate state revenue
in fiscal year 2004 for the compensation supplement account based on a 2.25
percent salary increase for all Standards of Quality funded positions effective
January 1, 2004. The amendment that was
adopted also makes the required local match for this account a part of required
local effort that must be appropriated to meet the Standards of Quality in
fiscal year 2004. This language does
not mandate a salary increase of 2.25 percent on January 1, 2004. Instead, this language requires that the
funds for the salary increase be included in the determination of the funding
needed to meet required local effort.
School divisions can meet this requirement as long as they have
sufficient local funds appropriated to meet the required local effort in
total. However, school divisions must
provide a salary increase equivalent to 2.25 percent on January 1, 2004, if
they wish to receive the state funds for the salary increase. A table showing equivalent salary increases
was included in Regulatory Superintendents Memorandum No. 3.
As indicated in Attachment A, except for the compensation supplement account, no policy changes were adopted by the General Assembly at the reconvened session that affected state payments to school divisions for fiscal years 2003 and 2004. There were some technical changes based on program participation, which are described in Attachment A. As a result, the state revenue projections and the Excel calculation tool provided as part of Regulatory Superintendent's Memorandum No. 3 remain the latest information on projected state payments for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.
The Excel calculation tool provided as part of Regulatory
Superintendent's Memorandum No. 3 provides the latest state revenue projection
for the
compensation supplement account based on the 2.25 percent salary increase
effective January 1, 2004. Selecting
the option called Entitlements Calculated Assuming the 2.25% Compensation
Supplement is Implemented from the drop-down box in the Excel file provides
the correct revenue projection. For
your reference, Regulatory Superintendents Memorandum No. 3 is available at
the following location:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Finance/Budget/calctools.html
It
is anticipated that final entitlements for fiscal year 2003 based on actual
March 31, 2003, Average Daily Membership (ADM) will be communicated to school
divisions by superintendents memorandum in May 2003. The information in that memorandum will represent the final state
entitlements to school divisions in fiscal year 2003 for ADM-based accounts and
other accounts where data has been finalized for the year.
If you have any questions, or need
additional information, please contact Daniel S. Timberlake, assistant
superintendent for finance, or budget office staff at (804) 225-2025.
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/administrators/superintendents_memos/2003/inf069a.pdf
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