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whole morale of the situation is much better,” Mr. Lane continued, encouraging citizens and officials to continue “pulling together” on the difficult decisions the county will face in the future. “I support this budget all but that much,” he said, holding his forefinger and thumb about an inch apart.
Mr. Lane recalled that while backing the capital outlay project at RCHS in theory, he had believed “economies” were possible, specifically by putting up a pre-fabricated gymnasium as opposed to brick-andmortar construction. “But I lost that battle, and now that we’ve done what we’ve done, I think it’s a very good thing and I’m proud of it,” the Stonewall-Hawthome representative acknowledged.
In the final comment from the audience, Laurie Marshall asked if the county could do long term planning to anticipate what education costs might be in the future.
Administrative assistant John McCarthy noted that Rappahannock’s officials have opted in the past to forego development of a capital improvements plan. “But given the unending nature of long term expenses, I think we will move towards adopting a CIP in the next year,” he said, basing his opinion on recent remarks from members of the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission.
“We need to be looking towards the future,” said Supervisor Massie, agreeing with Ms. Marshall’s contention that long range planning is necessary. “I think it’s a must to stay ahead in the ball game.”
“I assure you we’ve taken your comments to heart,” Chairman Gilkey told the audience of about 25 as he closed Thursday’s public hearing. “We’re pleased with this budget,” he said, adding that the board will act on the school budget at its meeting May 2.
And at the work session which followed, the praise continued, boding well for the future of the county’s public school system, at least as long as the current board members are in control of Rappahannock’s purse strings. Even the accountant joined in the compliments: “This is the first school budget I’ve gone through and smiled!” concluded Mr. Cox.
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