Inside Memorial Day Salute
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Seniors reflect on tennis careers, being part of history
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 46
May 20, 2020
Supervisors approve 90% of schools’ budget Board commits to evaluate the balance in coming weeks By Laura McFarland Editor
P
OWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors last week decided in a split vote to fund 90 percent of the county’s portion of the public school budget with the understanding it will work with the school board in coming weeks to determine how to handle the other 10 percent. During the board’s workshop on Thursday, May 14, the supervisors spent two hours discussing what action to take on the school division’s fiscal year (FY) 2021 operating budget given the uncertainties ahead caused by COVID-19’s devastating impact on the economy. Board members acknowledged how much is still unknown about the impact on Powhatan’s revenue stream caused by businesses being shut down and people be-
ing laid off or having their hours or pay reduced. Each supervisor offered a proposal on how to move forward during the discussion. But while their dollar figures varied, the split was ultimately between deciding whether to outright reduce the county transfer of funds to the schools and move on or approve 90 percent of the budget and work with the school board to see how much the remaining 10 percent could be reduced. The final decision was a 3-2 vote in favor of adopting 90 percent of the county transfer, or $21,012,075. The two boards will discuss the other 10 percent, or about $2.33 million, in upcoming meetings and the supervisors will decide how they want to proceed before adopting the county’s final budget at their June 29 meeting. Chairman David Williams, who represents District 1; Larry Nordvig, District 2, and Bill Cox, District 4, voted in favor of the proposal. Mike Byerly, District 3, and Karin Carmack, District 5, voted against it. Only moments before the successful vote, Carmack had made a proposal to reduce the county transfer to the schools to $21.5 million, a decrease of about $1.85 million, with no further action regarding working with the school board. That vote failed in a 2-3 decision, with only Byerly supporting it.
While the board of supervisors approved part of the budget, it did not allocate any funds at the workshop. However, the supervisors did unanimously adopt a new policy that, starting with the FY 2021 budget, they will handle fund allocation on a quarterly basis for not only the school division but all county departments as the year progresses and more information is known. The supervisors’ decision only impacts the county portion of the school division’s operating budget and not federal or state funds. The budget the school board members approved on May 12 totals $50.2 million, including $1.4 million for a transfer for food services. The $50.2 million budget the school board adopted on May 12 represented a $1.36 million reduction from the numbers they had been working with in April. It dialed the budget back to a level funding request for local transfer funds. Instead of the projected $904,438 increase in local funds the division was originally projecting, the schools asked for the same amount of local dollars adopted in the FY 2020 budget. The school division, which was originally counting on a $1 million increase in state funds, saw that number reduced by $460,206 when the General Assembly amended its budget in April. The remaining $543,088 see BOARD, pg. 4
PCPS welcomes Class of 2033 with online registration By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Social distancing isn’t keeping Powhatan County Public Schools from welcoming the incoming Class of 2033. The school division began kindergarten registration on April 30, and administrators have been pleasantly surprised by the number of families that
PHOTOS BY ANJIE KAY
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
Local nurse Heather Hogston stands in the camper loaned to her by a Chesterfield County couple, Any and Reese Gordy, through a group called RVs for MDs. The camper allows Hogston to stay apart from her parents, who are higher risk for COVID-19.
see KINDERGARTEN, pg. 3
Nurse using RV donated Josiah for duration of pandemic receives By Laura McFarland Editor
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
have registered their children in the new online format they set up, said Dr. Cheryl Thomas, director of elementary education. The schools usually have a big Kindergarten Registration Day to welcome their new students in person, complete with photo opportunities and a kindergarten assessment. Since that wasn’t possible with the current school clo-
POWHATAN – The separation is hard, but it’s worth it for Heather Hogston to protect her parents. For about six weeks, Hogston, a charge nurse at Sitter and Barfoot Veterans Care Center, has been living in a camper parked near her parents’ home. Normally she would be inside the house with her parents, Terri and Rodney Hogston. But because they are both considered high-risk for COVID-19, she made the decision to isolate herself from them. “It worries me because you don’t know until it is too late with COVID-19. So I tried to isolate
myself as much as I could in my bedroom, but it wasn’t easing my mind,” said Hogston, 32, of Powhatan. She did find a way to ease her worries thanks to Amy and Reese Gordy, the Chesterfield County couple who own the camper she currently calls home. The Gordys donated the use of their camper through RVs for MDs to Fight the Corona Virus, a Facebook group that helps connect medical workers with people who can help them find temporary housing solutions during the pandemic. The RVs for MDs Facebook page was started on March 24 by Emily Phillips, the wife of an ER see NURSE pg. 2
birthday surprise By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Cars were lined up as far as the eye could see to make sure local boy Josiah Brooks’s 10th birthday was a special one. Josiah’s birthday is probably his favorite day of the year, and despite being mostly homebound because of social distancing restrictions, his parents, Melinda and Adam Brooks, still wanted to
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Josiah Brooks enjoys the drive-by birthday celebration organized to help him mark his 10th birthday.
make his 10th birthday on May 8 extra special. The little boy was born with Down syndrome and has had many related health problems see JOSIAH, pg. 7
Families share their porch time By Laura McFarland
Porches of Powhatan feature series
Photos by Anjie Kay
Editor
POWHATAN – Welcome back to the Porches of Powhatan one last time. In a world where life usually seems to be going a mile a minute, porch time is a world of its own. And at time when the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way Americans live and interact, that time has never been more important.
Beginning with the April 15 edition of the Powhatan Today, we introduced our readers to a feature series called the Porches of Powhatan. Inspired by freelance photographer Anjie Kay’s portraits of local families, the series offers snapshots of Powhatan families doing the best they can to live their daily lives in extraordinary times. Last week, you met a couple working nonstop to make sure their youngest see PORCHES, pg. 5