Inside A6 Village Vibe brings community out for night of fun
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 Powhatan track celebrates senior night
Vol. XXXV No.. 43
April 27, 2022
School board tentatively passes operating budget By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County School Board recently approved its fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget at $54.76 million but did so with the understanding that things could change significantly depending what happens at the state and local levels. During the board’s meeting on Tuesday, April 19, the board voted unanimously to approve the FY2023 operating budget at $54,761,583 as well as the school food service budget at $1,682,387. Given the fact that the state has still not passed its budget as well as ongoing discussions about the budget by the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors, Dr. Eric Jones, superintendent, said he anticipates the budget will have to be amended in the future. However, the board is legally required to approve the budget in April, he said, so the members needed to move forward on it.
“We have collectively worked very hard on the budget this season. I know the school board has had more meetings and scrutiny of the budget than ever, and staff has certainly worked very hard to answer questions, bring forward information and look at our budget,” Jones said when introducing the topic. Rick Cole, who represents District 1, pointed out that while the school board has worked hard on the budget, the members and citizens are frustrated because they still do not have an accurate picture of what the revenues will be. “This budget that we are approving is our best attempt at what we have based on the data we have right now. It is a very good likelihood – almost a certainty – that we are going to have to go back and make some changes later on when we finally do get our revenue picture,” he said “So I guess I ask citizens to be involved in the process even as we move forward, to be aware of what is going on as more information comes out.”
Susan Smith, District 2, also asked staff and the community for patience, saying “we are doing the best we can in the dreamland that we are hanging right now. It is just a wait-and-see game.” The FY2023 budget the board approved includes a local transfer from the county of $26,026,607, which is an increase of $2.12 million from the FY2022 adopted budget. The other largest revenue source, the state, is budgeted at $24,586,776, which is an increase of $64,138 over last year’s adopted budget. While the school division did see an increase in state funding, the state transfer is significantly less than the school board originally anticipated at the start of the budget season owing to the county’s Composite Index, which determines a school division’s ability to pay education costs fundamental to the Commonwealth’s Standards of Quality (SOQ), seeing a dramatic increase. County administrator Ned Smither proposed the large increase from the county to help offset a $2.77 see SCHOOL BOARD, pg. 6
Culinary program builds connections Supervisors take By Laura McFarland
steps forward in budget process
Managing Editor
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
POWHATAN – Powhatan High School’s career and technical education (CTE) program is continually trying to bridge the gap with the real world job market to better prepare students for today’s workforce. Last week, the high school’s Culinary Arts program continued those efforts, bringing in local food service professionals to show off how the program is preparing youth for the industry. Representatives from local restaurants and food service-related businesses got a glimpse into the program during a lunch held April 21 at Bailey’s Café, a student-run in-house restaurant that has been slowly making its way back after the COVID-19 pandemic. The day the visitors had lunch at Bailey’s was its first day back fully operational with no reservations required for staff members eating there. Culinary instructor Mark Robertson saw the lunch as an opportunity
By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Powhatan High School sophomore Zoé Lucas serves guests from local food service-related businesses who were invited to Bailey’s Cafe for lunch. The lunch was part of an effort to make more connections for the CTE program.
to make contact with local industry professionals who might have opportunities for employment or internships for his students. He was up front that not every student who takes Culinary Arts classes wants to pursue a career in
food service or hospitality, but some are really passionate and could benefit from making those connections. Robertson said he has tried to make similar connections in the past but the see CULINARY, pg. 3
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors decided in a split vote last week to advertise the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget at $109.9 million, which the public is now being asked to weigh in on during a May 3 public hearing. The 3-2 decision in favor of advertising that amount came at the end of a two-hour discussion on the budget that didn’t yield much change at the board’s budget workshop on Monday, April 18. Chair Mike Byerly, who represents District 3; Steve McClung, District 2, and Karin Carmack, District 5, voted in favor of advertising the budget at that amount. David Williams, District 1, and Bill Cox, District 4, voted against it. The $109,908,958 the county is advertising is the total proposed FY2023 operating budget without transfers included. The proposed amount represents a $9.8 million increase (9.8%) from the county’s FY2022 adopted budget, which was over $100 million. Last week’s budget discussion didn’t follow a set path, mostly flowing between topics as different board members raised
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see BUDGET, pg. 4
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Cole announces retirement from school board at the end of 2022
Powhatan County Public Schools STEM coach Lisa Brown, right, helps Kelly Johannsen and her daughter, Jolene, 4, create wild flower seed art at the Powhatan Earth Day Celebration held April 22. See full story Page 3A.
By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
Students to compete at national event By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – After winning at the state level, three Powhatan High School students will be traveling to Atlanta, Georgia this summer to compete at the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference. Makenzie Parrish and her model Cameron Christopher won first place in the Nail Technology category and Nolan Heckel came in first in the Electrical Construction Wiring category at the SkillsUSA State Leadership Conference held earlier this month in Virginia Beach. As first-place winners, the trio earned the right to represent both Powhatan High CONTRIBUTED PHOTO School and the state when they travel to Atlanta to compete at the national confer- Powhatan High School students see STUDENTS, pg. 5
competed at the SkillsUSA State Leadership Conference.
POWHATAN – After serving more than 10 years as the District 1 representative for the Powhatan County School Board, Rick Cole has announced plans to retire by the end of the year. At the very end of the school board’s meeting on Tuesday, April 19, Cole made a short anRICK COLE nouncement about his intention to retire as a school board member effective Dec. 31, 2022. He said he made the decision after months of careful thought but declined to elaborate on what prompted see COLE, pg. 5