Butting Heads

I came across a story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning about School Boards & Boards of Supervisors, their perpetual conflict over budgeting, and how relationships have deteriorated during the recession. The School Board will discuss the future of the Joint Committee of the School Board & Board of Supervisors tomorrow night, this article is a good read in advance of that discussion.

The article cites Powhatan, Chesterfield and Goochland counties and their conflicts over the budget, which sound very familiar to folks her in Loudoun.

"Where some of our frustration comes in is sometimes when we hear -- over the last couple of years -- that they want more information about how we do our budget," Trammell said.

He said school leaders provide as much detail as possible, but feels that the supervisors sometimes approach the point of micromanagement.

"Sometimes they find themselves making a value judgment without enough information," he said. "I wouldn't know how to try to second-guess their decision on mental health and all the services they provide. I wouldn't know more than to try to make a judgment on that than the man on the moon."

Walton said that in Powhatan, the main problem is the details -- or the lack thereof.

"In a recession, where you're pulling back on funds, you need good information," he said, adding that he never felt they received that level of clarity. "If you can't get numbers that add up forwards and backwards, you're lost in the wilderness."

The article also cites the Hanover, Henrico and Richmond as examples of Boards that work well together for different reasons (an appointed SB, a good County administrator and a common enemy, respectively).

[Richmond Times Dispatch]