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FEBRUARY 12, 2015
NUMBER 35
Educa t io n
VOLUME 8
Budget Debate Opens With Schools $24.9M Short ounty Administrator Tim Hemstreet’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year provides nearly $25 million less in local spending for education than what the Loudoun School Board approved Jan. 29. Hemstreet last week rolled out his budget proposals at the government center in Leesburg. His spending plan totals $2.2 billion, but at a real estate tax rate of $1.13 per $100 of assessed value, it would leave the School Board to find $24.9 million in savings in its adopted $982.1 million operating budget.
The $1.13 rate was used in calculations because that was the “equalized” figure when Hemstreet prepared his budget. Because property values have risen in Loudoun, the equalized rate is the one that would generate the same amount of revenue as the current levy, $1.155 per $100 of valuation. However, Hemstreet noted that information that became available just before the printing of the budget shows the equalized rate actually would be $1.135. The administrator advertised a real estate tax rate of $1.165 per $100 of assessed value for FY16. That would be a 1 cent increase from the current rate, but property owners shouldn’t fret:
That won’t necessarily be the figure that’s ultimately approved. Once a rate is advertised, the Board of Supervisors can adopt a lower levy, but not a higher one. That means that $1.165 is the maximum rate that property owners could see in the next fiscal year. The $1.165 figure is important for another reason, as Hemstreet wrote in his official letter to supervisors introducing his appropriation proposals: “This tax rate would allow the Board to fully fund the School Board request if you choose.” Approval of a $1.165 rate isn’t likely, however, because it would mean the supervisors OK’ing a tax increase in a year when all nine board seats are up for election.
At the $1.13 rate, the schools would see local funding in the amount of $636.2 million, according to Hemstreet’s plan. That’s a $35.4 million, or 5.9 percent, increase in tax revenue over what’s in the current fiscal year’s budget. Overall, Hemstreet’s proposal represents a $224.9 million, or 11.3 percent, increase in all appropriations over the current budget. “I believe that the budget that I have submitted carries out your vision for Loudoun County and adheres to your strategic priorities while also meeting the needs of our community,” the administrator told the supervisors, who are slated to adopt a budget and tax rate by early April.
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Students in Shenandoah University’s newly expanded physical therapy program role play during a recent class. The university recently launched graduate programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy and physician assistant studies at its Northern Virginia campus in Lansdowne.
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sk any doctor. Change is in the air. With the roll out of the Affordable Care Act, an aging population and an expected surge of industry retirees looming, the shortage of medical professionals is pegged at 20,000 nationwide over the next five years. But, in Loudoun, colleges and universities are doing their part to answer the call for more well-trained health care workers. They’re churning out grant applications, partnering with hospitals and sharing professors and facilities to try to produce more graduates than ever in the
coming years who are qualified to step in and meet the new demands of the industry. “How people get medical care is evolving,” said Kathy Ganske, dean of the Eleanor Wade School of Nursing at Shenandoah University. “We’ll still have hospitals and we’ll still have lots of need for that, but the prediction is that more dollars are going to go toward prevention, wellness and care out in the community, so that people don’t end up in acute settings, which is the hospital.” The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is expected to result in more trips to primary doctors to prevent illness or injury and fewer trips for surgery or serious illness. That will mean a boost in demand for nurse practitio-
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O pi nio n
Loudoun Colleges Team Up To Meet Coming Medical Staffing Needs
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M o r e B u d g e t I n s i d e : Budget highlights… Page 20 • Assessments on the rebound… Page 20
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