School budgets may be of little concern to many students in Fauquier County as they have always had the supplies and materials necessary to perform everyday school activities. However, this may change shortly. The School Board is bracing for difficult times with the declining economy and has plans to make extensive cuts to the allotted money given to schools.

The county has already approved a hiring freeze to offset the loss of over $1.8 million to the budget last year. The freeze will take effect on Nov. 1 and continue on through July. In addition, employee salary increases have been put on hold.

At FHS, efforts to reduce paper consumption, as well as other cost saving measures are directly related to budget concerns.

“We have to freeze 25 percent of our budget here on all consumable materials,” librarian Becca Isaac said. “Mr. Sites has asked us all to limit our equipment orders. We can’t find the funds necessary to get things like LCD projectors, boom boxes, or other materials here at the library that we could have gotten [in the past].”

School budgets typically grow at rates higher than inflation. With the challenging economic times, the revenue allotted to schools will change even though students need supplies to learn.

“If they keep cutting and cutting, it’s going to get to a point where they start needing,” senior Mike Cole said. “I mean, if they start going way down, we’re going to lose all of our sports, materials, or teachers, and then what?”

Some of the cuts can be attributed to the opening of the new Kettle Run High School, as the county must now support for twenty different schools.

“Our library had cuts due to the new Kettle Run High School opening,” librarian Sue Walbert said.

Economists predict local revenues will drop over the next few years as real estate values decline, generating less in local property taxes for school budgets. Less school funding means that the number of field trips and other out of school activities will decrease. Already Principal Roger Sites has requested that only vital field trips be planned. Gas is a major county expense as gas prices fluctuate.

There will be a meeting at the end of October to discuss the budget for school year 2009-2010, according to Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Lewis.

“There should be no reason for a lack of paper, schools supplies, or anything else really this school year,” Lewis said. “Schools were given the normal allotted budget this year; it is next year we need to worry about.”

Under the current administration in the Federal Government, no aid is funneled down to the states and their education programs. However, with a change in administration coming up, there is likelihood for change to this policy, according to the Fauquier County Public School’s Executive Director of Budget and Operations Andy Hawkins.