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It’s time once again to reach back to my library shelves and pull out the story of the free money fairy, as we continue to have people who swear they don’t believe in him, but want the benefits of his labor, nonetheless. 

Across the board in Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward over the last few weeks, there have been people lining up with wish lists. I say wish lists because despite every possible indication that county supervisors and school boards are flat out tapped for funds, they still believe it’s not just possible but required for their wishes to be fulfilled. And so, here is where I come in, with the tale of the free money fairy. 

Full disclosure. I have yet to meet the free money fairy. I’m told that much like Santa Claus, all it takes is belief and he’ll magically appear, immediately giving you all the cash your county or town requires. He’s apparently been known to spring from the ceiling, throwing bundles of cash at unsuspecting council members. Or when you take a break mid-meeting, some supervisors return to find checks worth millions in their seats. 

And for everyone who has rolled their eyes so far at this column, I wouldn’t roll them too hard, because you may not believe in the fairy, but you sure want money to appear out of nowhere. 

Let’s be realistic

I bring this up first off because of people who have messaged us, irate over the fact Buckingham County has not completely replaced its school bus fleet with newer vehicles that have air conditioning. The fact some of the newer buses in the fleet do have air conditioning is offensive to these people. 

Let’s get one thing straight. Buckingham County does not have the money to spend on updating or replacing its entire fleet. It’s just not there. By the end of this school year, the district will have 11 total that are either new or have been retrofitted with air conditioning. That’s because, as reported in Wednesday’s edition, they buy two new ones each year with $270,000 received from the county. That’s simply all they can afford. It also just makes sense to start with the bus with the longest route and work backwards. Kids who travel the longest on a route should be the first priority. 

And before someone starts yelling about how county supervisors or school board members need to make budget cuts to get it done, they already have. If you have ideas on what’s left to cut, by all means, let’s hear it. And I mean real numbers, not imaginary ones. I had one person tell me the county needed to cut down the $50,000 given to individual school board members. He had just “heard” that. I had to point out that wasn’t true. Instead, each member gets $4,200 a year, not each month. 

This year the school board had cut staff, cut back on programs and did everything just to stay afloat after a shortfall. Now they’re going to be possibly facing another one, even before the ink is dry on the budget. Right before July 1, right before the new budget took effect, federal funding for several community development block grants was frozen. Parts of Title II, Title III, Title IV and Title V, which help pay for a number of school programs, have been suspended. And yet, faced with all this, somehow the school board is expected to find money not to replace one or two more buses, but rather the entire fleet? 

Why don’t we have that here? 

Shifting gears to Cumberland, I had a woman email me about several of her family members, who go to school in Loudoun County. Yes, you can likely see where this is going. Loudoun has a significant number of programs that Cumberland doesn’t. Why, this woman asked, aren’t we reporting on the misuse of funds preventing the Cumberland school district from expanding, with specialized schools and more high tech buildings. 

Yes, I replied, Loudoun does have a lot more. It also has a much bigger economy, one that dwarfs this entire region. Cumberland staff do an amazing job with the funding they have and it’s not like the county is hiding any. There’s simply no more to give. You can’t go into a rural county and expect the same things as you see in Northern Virginia. At least not right now. I’m sure if you have some connections with big companies that will move in and offer hundreds of jobs to suddenly provide that funding, the county’s Economic Development Authority would be more than happy to help. 

But the EDA’s work is very much still in the infancy stage. Good work, nonetheless, but not at the point where we’ll see a direct result yet. Why? Because these things take time. You don’t just call up a company and demand they move into an area. And yet, the questions keep coming. Why don’t we have X, Y or Z like this other county? 

We can’t give money we don’t have

Look, we all want what we don’t have. Especially when it comes to schools, every single person in authority would gladly snap their fingers and fully fund every single program if it was within their power. 

But the reality is the money isn’t here for that. In fact, that pot looks to be getting smaller by the day, when you talk about federal dollars. I understand wanting your kid to have the same as someone in another county, but nobody can give what they don’t have. And the money simply isn’t here.

BRIAN CARLTON is the regional editor for the Farmville Herald and its sister papers. He can be reached at brian.carlton@farmvilleherald.com.