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Powhatan, Virginia B1 Powhatan wins regionals
Vol. XXXV No.. 33
February 16, 2022
School board sees ‘bleak’ early budget figures Less state funding could present major challenges By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
P
OWHATAN – Although it is still early in the process and there are plenty of unknowns, superintendent Eric Jones presented the Powhatan County School Board last week with one of the most challenging initial budget projections the school division has seen in many years. During the board’s meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 8, Jones gave an update on what is currently known about the school division’s fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget,
which he acknowledged is still missing many vital parts. But a projected reduction in state dollars combined with possible health insurance increases and the proposed salary increases that would be recommended to keep the school division competitive in the region are key factors in a $2.77 million budget dilemma the school division is facing at this point, Jones said. “At this point I am concerned about maintaining staffing levels to provide direct support to students and also maintaining curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular programs with a $2.7 million gap in our budget at this time,” Jones told the board. Jones typically updates the school board members a few times with important information as it becomes available before heading into the full budget pro-
cess to keep them updated and not dump everything on them at once. The board is scheduled to have full budget workshops from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 16 and 23 in the Pocahontas Landmark Center. The workshops are open to the public and can be viewed online on the school division’s Youtube channel. Jones pointed out that a great deal of key information is still missing, including the final state budget that will let Powhatan County know how much funding to expect and the initial figures on local funding that will be recommended by county staff to the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors for consideration. But the very fact that the school board may be faced with asking the supervisors to help make up such a large deficit is in itself problematic because it puts an increased burden on the locality to fund
education needs, Jones said. The budget presentation wasn’t followed by a great deal of discussion from the school board, but Rick Cole, who represents District 1, said the news was “about as bleak a first report as we have gotten for several years and it stands in contrast to the county that had an $8 million surplus last year and a state that had several billion dollars in budget surplus.” The projected loss in state revenue is going to make it a challenging budget year, Cole said. To maintain the school division to the level citizens want, the county has been asked and has followed through on picking up more and more costs for the funding for school operations over the last 15 years, he added. In his presentation, Jones had pointed out that since FY2013, Powhatan County Public Schools (PCPS) had faced see BUDGET, pg. 6
PHS honors Black History Month PCPS aims to revamp adult education By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
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Powhatan High School seniors Naveah Ferguson, from left, McKenzie Prince and Shaniece Morris greet guest speaker Lillian Lincoln Lambert (shown inset) via a video call during a Black History Month event held schoolwide on Feb. 8.
By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – From growing up on a farm in Ballsville to becoming the first black woman to receive an MBA from Harvard Business School, Lillian Lincoln Lambert’s story is one of both personal perseverance and appreciation for the people who believed in and mentored her along the way. Lambert shared some of her story with Powhatan High School students as part of a schoolwide Black History Month program held Tuesday, Feb. 8. The author and speaker spoke via a live video call that was shown in classrooms schoolwide, sharing the challenges she faced,
both within herself and in the world, and the people and decisions that propelled her toward a better future. PHS seniors Naveah Ferguson, McKenzie Prince and Shaniece Morris moderated the program with Lambert, introducing her to the student body and speaking to her briefly at the end of her program. All three students are enrolled in the school’s African American History course, and this program was one of several the students have been involved with this month to honor Black History Month. In addition to looking at important historical people of color, history teacher Amanda Wilson said one of the major see BLACK HISTORY, pg. 5
POWHATAN – Powhatan County Public Schools staff is partnering with county staff to work on rebooting and revamping the division’s adult education program to better meet local workforce needs. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the school division had a bustling adult education program that focused on sports, hobbies and some skills-based classes. But the shutdown that spring offered school division staff a chance to evaluate the program’s hobbyist nature and see if it could better serve the community with a shift to workforce development classes, said Jason Tibbs, director of facilities and career and technical education. For the past several years, Tibbs has been collaborating with Roxanne Salerno, the county’s economic development manager, to gather information about what kind of adult education courses would best serve existing needs in the community. More recently, the school division retained Michael Ashton as the adult education’s part-time coordinator in fall 2021 to work with them on those efforts. The list of ideas for the direction of the program has been evolving steadily as staff has reached out to local businesses to gauge their needs, Ashton said. Some of the areas of study they have already heard as needs included accounting basics, app development and design, customer service/retail see ADULT, pg. 3
Sweet treats at the library
Bill to protect well water fails to move forward By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Powhatan County Library hosted a Hot Cocoa Bomb class Feb. 5. Participants made chocolate shells and filled them with sweet treats. Shown are Powhatan resident Mary Riley, right, and friends Kim Marble, center, and Grace Marble. See more photos Page 6A.
POWHATAN – A Powhatan-led amendment to state code aiming to better protect private well water failed to gain momentum and was tabled during the current General Assembly. Del. R. Lee Ware, R-65, was the chief patron on House Bill 1200, which was meant to extend a more stringent protection currently given to public water sources against landfills but not wells. Virginia Code Section 9VAC20-81120 “protects public water sources by prohibiting new landfills within a one mile upgradient of any existing surface or groundwater public water supply insee WELL WATER, pg. 8