Va. Beach School Board gets an earful

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Dozens of concerned citizens showed up Tuesday night to let the Virginia Beach School Board have it.

Recently, Superintendent Dr. James Merrill proposed not only cutting teaching positions, but also JV and middle school sports to help close a nearly $40 million budget gap.

"Each of those proposed cuts upsets Virginia Beach, because they represent a change in a system we've all come to appreciate," one student said.

"I hear students talking about the budget," added another speaker. "Is that what students should be worrying about at this time of year?"

One by one, students, teachers and parents stepped up to the microphone.

"Inability to the fund the budget has caused many of us to take on second jobs in order to sustain a quality in this great city," another speaker told the board.

They asked school board members not to make such drastic cuts. In addition to the previously mentioned cuts, Merrill's budget proposal includes the elimination of transportation to academies.

"Programmatic changes because of budget cuts are never good," School Board member Brent McKenzie said. "We like to make programmatic cuts, because things aren't working. We never want to see changes because of budget cuts."

Board members listened to the concerns, though at times, it was very hard to hear.

"It pulls at you," added board member Patrick Sayler. "It pulls at your heart. It pulls at your very being."

WAVY.com was told over the past few years, the school system has lost money due to decreased state and local funding.

"I think we can do this in a very reasonable way," Slayer said. "We are reasonable people. Council and the General Assembly are reasonable people. I think we can get this done."

The board urged the crowd to keep fighting and asking city council for more money, saying this budget is far from over.

"The state is still going through its budget process," Mckenzie explained. "We're hopeful there will be some changes there. You know, we're going to keep talking to our city council members, hopefully they will come through for us to and do what's right."