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VA High Athletics


Grapeape
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If you support Bearcat football, baseball, or ANY sport, you might want to get active in local politics. The Bristol, VA city council has cut Bristol VA Public Schools ' budget by $545,000. Per BVPS ' superintendent, cuts for 2018-19 could include ALL athletics. 

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14 hours ago, Grapeape said:

If you support Bearcat football, baseball, or ANY sport, you might want to get active in local politics. The Bristol, VA city council has cut Bristol VA Public Schools ' budget by $545,000. Per BVPS ' superintendent, cuts for 2018-19 could include ALL athletics. 

If I'm reading the facts correctly (and it's possible that I am missing something), the school system will be receiving an additional $940,000 from the Commonwealth of Virginia.  If the City reduces its contribution by $545,000 then the school system would still be ahead by almost $300,000 compared to the current fiscal year.  How does this qualify as a "cut" in overall funding?

EDIT:  I did see that there is $500,000 of federal money on the table that is likely to be withdrawn from the budget, so that does put the school system in a $200,000 hole (all other things being equal).  I don't know a lot about assessed values in Bristol, but if the folks there want the City to make up that difference it could probably be done for a nickle increase in the real estate tax rate.

Seems that everybody expects an enhanced level of service, but nobody wants to pay for the cost of that enhancement.  Local government is fun.

Edited by RichlandsAlum
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3 hours ago, RichlandsAlum said:

If I'm reading the facts correctly (and it's possible that I am missing something), the school system will be receiving an additional $940,000 from the Commonwealth of Virginia.  If the City reduces its contribution by $545,000 then the school system would still be ahead by almost $300,000 compared to the current fiscal year.  How does this qualify as a "cut" in overall funding?

EDIT:  I did see that there is $500,000 of federal money on the table that is likely to be withdrawn from the budget, so that does put the school system in a $200,000 hole (all other things being equal).  I don't know a lot about assessed values in Bristol, but if the folks there want the City to make up that difference it could probably be done for a nickle increase in the real estate tax rate.

Seems that everybody expects an enhanced level of service, but nobody wants to pay for the cost of that enhancement.  Local government is fun.

A locality like the City of Bristol has myriad ways to make up a $200K hole. With the M&T taxes, sales taxes, and meals taxes flowing into the coffers there, the City likely wouldn’t have to touch the real estate taxes at all.  I am not sure what the taxation rate is for the City, but I’d say 1-2 cents on the $1000 would be plenty IF that is the preferred route.

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The main budget drain is that city funded money pit built to bring in stores and of course $$$$, it has been a nightmare for the city of Bristol VA.They will go into bankruptcy in the near future and all phases of the city government will take big hits, police, fire, and school system. There are no easy fixes and it will be decades before the city becomes viable again.Some of the self supporting teams can survive,but there will be hard choices to make and some area business may have to provide support in the form of equipment , and travel .Maybe the former players that have made it big can step in and help out, anyhow goodluck BEARCATS

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Again, I don't know a lot of the local specifics, but the City of Bristol has made some perplexing decisions in its efforts to chase revenue -- first entering the cable business and now chasing retail development.

Somebody ought to introduce reversion to Town status as a matter for serious consideration.  (Same is true for all Independent Cities under 20,000 population -- particularly for those south and/or west of Salem.)

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