The plan that the Alamance-Burlington School System’s superintendent unveiled last week to close a $3.2 million budget shortfall landed with a giant thud.
Faced with widespread backlash in the community, Superintendent Dain Butler apologized at Monday night’s Alamance-Burlington Board of Education meeting for sending the email Thursday that proposed closing the Alamance Virtual School at the end of the current school year.
“I put the cart before the horse,” he said “I want to put it (AVS) in the budget (for 2024-25). We need to come to the table and figure out how to keep the program going.”
Dozens of people came to Monday’s meeting to show support for the virtual school, and three school board members — Chuck Marsh, Seneca Rogers and Ryan Bowden — wore the school colors of purple and black. They also took issue with Butler’s contention in Thursday’s email that the virtual school was always intended to be closed after the COVID-19 pandemic had passed.
Bowden said, “I was here in 2021, and it was not meant to just be a temporary school.”
Marsh, whose wife is the principal at the school, said, “This school is the future.”
Over 20 parents, students and teachers spoke on behalf of keeping the school open. They cited bullying and anxiety experienced at brick-and-mortar schools, the virtual school’s familial atmosphere, as well as getting better grades, as reasons to keep it operating.
In November, an independent auditor warned of a dangerously low fund balance, which the district had been drawing from for several years to balance its budget.
ABSS implement a hiring freeze on positions other than teachers, bus drivers and cafeteria workers, and that will continue. There will be no reduction in force or changes to the dual language program.
The school board agreed to discuss its budget options at subsequent meetings. A work session is scheduled for March 12, and the board expects to approve its budget proposal March 25. It would be submitted to Alamance County the next day for the Alamance County Board of Commissioners to consider.
