The Legislature should give more funding for scholarships, increase the base scholarship amount and broaden its categories of scholarship, V.I. Board of Education Chairwoman Winona Hendricks told senators during budget hearings Wednesday on St. Thomas.
The elected V.I. Board of Education certifies teachers; creates and revises educational policies; operates the territorial scholarship and student loan program; and inspects school facilities.
As of July 11, the board had collected about $17,000 for the fiscal year from companies required to support scholarships and give to charity in exchange for receiving nearly total tax forgiveness through the territory’s Economic Development Commission tax benefit program, according to the figures Hendricks provided.
The board also collected about $373,000 in payments on outstanding student loans. That funding will provide 1,132 students with $1,800 scholarships this coming year, she said.
But $1,800 is not enough to get to college today, so "it is the board’s continued hope that an additional $1 million can be raised to provide a base award of at least $3,000," Hendricks said. The board would like the Legislature to consider more scholarships in areas from culinary arts to journalism, she added.
The U.S. Department of Education College Access Challenge Grant Program provided $1 million, through which 200 first-time freshmen got need-based scholarships. And the Legislature appropriated $400,000 for nursing scholarships.
The board certified roughly 300 professionals in 2011-12, bringing the percentage of professionals certified as "highly qualified" to 67 percent, Hendricks said.
Hendricks presented the governor’s 2013 budget recommended Board of Education budget of $2.9 million – $364,000 or 12 percent less than the previous budget. Wages and salaries account for $750,000, benefits another $247,000. Utilities comprise $60,000 of the budget, supplies another $40,000 and capital expenses another $25,000.
The board’s "other services and charges" category totals $1.8 million – more than half the budget – and includes $400,000 in local appropriations for nursing scholarships. Along with local government appropriations, the board anticipates receiving $555,000 from student loan payments and $1 million from the College Access Grant Program, for a total of $4.5 million under the control of the board for 2013.
In addition to the governor’s recommended budget appropriation, Hendricks voiced a request for an additional $50,000 to help relocate its St. Croix office; an extra $5,000 for utilities; another $200,000 for teacher training; and an additional $1 million to bolster career and technical education.
Also on Wednesday, Magens Bay Authority Chairman Robert Morõn spoke to the Finance Committee about the authority’s budget and plans for the year.
Magens Bay Authority is responsible for the overall management of Magens Bay Park, Drake Seat and Smith Bay Park. Budget and management are largely divided into two segments, for Magens Bay and Smith Bay. It is almost entirely self-funded through its own fees.
Magens Bay Park’s projected 2013 budget is $1.5 million, and Smith Bay Park’s is projected at $335,000, according to the Legislature’s post audit. Wages and salaries account for $866,000 of Magens Bay’s budget, with benefits adding another $242,000.Utilities are projected at $40,000 for the year.
Over at Smith Bay, salaries and wages comprise $138,000 of the budget, and benefits another $53,000.
All of the authority’s Magens Bay expenses are paid from entrance fees, lease income and other internal funding sources. But Morõn said the authority is requesting a budget appropriation of $201,000 towards the operations at Smith Bay Park, which has smaller revenues than Magens Bay.
No votes were taken at the information-gathering budget hearing.
