Prince Edward County Public Schools (PECPS) Superintendent Dr. Barbara Johnson presented a general overview of the proposed 2019-2020 school budget during a public hearing March 6.

No members of the public spoke during the hearing.

Johnson said the priorities for the budget include a raise for the division’s staff mandated by the state.

“The state is expecting divisions to give anywhere between a 2-5 percent raise to SOQ-funded, Standards of Quality-funded positions,” Johnson said.

Johnson said SOQ is a formula used to determine and calculate the staff necessary to effectively educate students.

Johnson said most divisions, including Prince Edward, exceed the SOQ because they serve children.

The school division, during its prior 2018-2019 fiscal year budget, received a total of $24,960,152. This initial budget was $25,765,776, but the budget was amended by a reduction of $805,624 to reflect the budget passed by the General Assembly last summer.

Other budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year include an early childhood special education teacher, an additional assistant principal for Prince Edward County Middle School, a sixth-grade history teacher, a sixth-grade science teacher, a special education teacher, a technology assistant an English Language Learners (ELL)/Spanish teacher and an expansion or replacement to the divison’s server.

“As we continue to buy new technologies for our students, we are running out of server capacity,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the division currently has 46 students who are ELL and one teacher who teaches Spanish and ELL. Johnson said the ELL teacher would assist those students.

The school division is expected to present the 2019-2020 to the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors at a later date.