Tazewell County Schools returning funds to the county
May 24—tazewell, va. — More than $1.7 million of excess funding for Tazewell County Schools is being returned to the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, school officials said Thursday.
The Tazewell County School Board, in conjunction with a recommendation from the superintendent, voted Wednesday during a special meeting to return $1,730,434 of unspent excess local funding to the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors.
The funds are part of the school board's budget surplus which is a result of several years of conservative financial management in anticipation of a rough fiscal year 2025, as advised by the board's superintendent, a couple of budgets ago, school officials said Thursday.
"Part of our board's financial management approach has been to prepare for unforeseen circumstances that arise, and reduce unnecessary spending," said Chris Moir, chair of the school board. "This sometimes allows a board like ours to be in a very good financial position at the end of the year."
Moir said that while the board has been using portions of these surplus funds in recent years to invest in repairs to aging school buildings, some of which date to the 1930s, and instructional supports in classrooms, this year the board wanted to show good camaraderie and a spirit of good governance. The school board wanted to help the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors balance its budget and save the important programs that the county government funds in addition to the school system.
"As a governmental partner with the county, I see this as a move of support during a time of financial strain within the county," said Superintendent Dr. Chris Stacy. "This move can allow funding for fire stations, flood mitigation, scholarships for our graduates, the sheriff's office, the IDA, and other important areas that have had funding cut or proposed to be cut. As the largest employer in Tazewell County, we will also benefit from strong county agencies and citizenry. These funds will hopefully allow the county to protect their reserves and bridge everyone to the 2025-2026 budget when expected coal severance revenues can bolster our budgets."
Longtime board member and Vice Chair Donna Whittington said at the end of the meeting that although a filing deadline was missed on the county's audit, there were no misgivings on the financial management of the board or central office of the school board's funds. She said that the superintendent and school board have been fiscally responsible and are willing to help the county in their time of financial need.
The timing of various grant reimbursement funding has been traditionally used to pay the school system's employees and other bills from July to December when the local government was able to use local tax revenues to begin funding the school system, Stacy said.
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
