PETERSBURG -- Fifth-grader Ian Christian stood up in front of City Council last night and told about 50 city residents to ask their local government to fully fund the school system.

"Think about the harm you will be doing to my fellow students . . . by not fully funding the schools," the boy said during a public hearing at Vernon Johns Elementary School on Petersburg's proposed budget for fiscal 2009.

The A.P. Hill Elementary School student, one of a half-dozen residents who spoke at the hearing, said he and other children would suffer the consequences if city government does not increase funding to the schools.

The proposed budget includes $10.3 million for the school system, almost $3 million short of what the School Board had requested.

Yesterday, Mayor Annie M. Mickens said the city is looking at several options to increase education funding and is working to reach a "comfortable agreement" with the School Board, which is set to approve its budget tomorrow. She said the city is expected to reach an agreement to increase the school funding to $11.18 million before the board approves its budget.

Several residents urged city officials to make the schools and public safety a priority. Some asked City Council to be more transparent on the way the city spends taxpayer money.

The troubled school system has come a long way under the initiatives of new Superintendent James M. Victory, residents said. They said the system now needs funding to keep progressing.

"To grow the city, we have to have a solid, successful school system," Gloria Brown said. "Please fund our children's education."

The council also held a public hearing on the property tax rate, which in the proposed budget is kept at the current rate of $1.35 per $100 of assessed property value.

Resident Pam Roberts said the current rate is too high and that residents are paying more every year because of the increasing property assessments.

"We don't feel safe. The schools are in bad condition, and the other services are slow," she said. "My tax rate is very high for what we get."

The overall budget of $90.7 million is $6.3 million, or 7.47 percent, greater than the current budget. The proposal also includes $9.5 million for the Petersburg Bureau of Police and funds the hiring of five police officers. City Council is expected to vote on the budget next week.
Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or llazo@timesdispatch.com.