Prince William County supervisors have put the brakes on the school system’s plan to hire 180 new teachers with new federal funds.
The schools expected to be able to hire the teachers after Congress this month allocated $249.5 million for school systems in Virginia.
The goal was to “fast-track” the hiring of the new teachers, and staff was working with legal counsel to offer a contract to account for hiring them before the School Board meets about the hiring Sept. 1, Superintendent Steven Walts wrote in an Aug. 20 letter to County Executive Melissa Peacor.
“The Board of County Supervisors would then also need to follow with their approval,” the letter reads. “In other words, final employment would be based upon School Board and BOCS approval.”
But supervisors said they had not been consulted on the move and postponed a decision on allocating the funds.
The superintendent’s effort to hire the teachers without consulting supervisors or school board members
was unfair to the school board and “not consistent with the concept of elected government,” said Supervisor Marty Nohe, R-Coles. He noted that the county has not been allocated any money, and said it didn’t make sense to hire employees when they might have to be fired.
Supervisor Frank Principi, D-Woodbridge, moved to postpone the item until the board’s Sept. 14 meeting, but his motion died. Principi, attempting to put the board short of a quorum, then removed himself from the vote on not budgeting the money “at this time.”
As a follow-up to the board’s meeting, Walts wrote to Peacor that he would not hire any teachers with the federal funding until rules for their use had been evaluated and the school board and supervisors discussed the issue at a public meeting.
Congress recently approved $10 billion through the Education Jobs Fund, and Virginia is eligible for about $250 million. Applications for the funding are due on Sept. 9. The first day of school for Prince William County students is Sept. 7.
In January, Prince William County schools were facing a $27 million shortfall and looking at laying off 728 workers. However, state actions, which included undoing a proposed freeze of a formula that determines school funding, helped stave off layoffs.
