(Danville) — City school leaders are mapping out a long-term Capital Improvement Plan using casino revenues.
School Superintendent Doctor Angela Hairston told the Danville School Board Thursday says it stems from a city initiative that explored the best way to spend local tax dollars generated by Caesars Virginia Casino and Resort. “There was an Investing in Danville Committee that formed to discuss focus points for using revenues from the casino,” Hairston said. “What were we able to do is provide some recommendations about how we would like to spend those dollars.”
Hairston says the list of priorities is not written in stone, and any projects are set pretty well into the future. “There are no guarantees because there are competing priorities. But at least there is a commitment now to begin those discussions,” Hairston said. “For some of these it will take about a year to sit down and come up with a plan.”
The most expensive of the projects is an effort to provide free tuition at Danville Community College for anyone who graduates from a Danville public high school. The estimated price tag is $4,653,000.
The CIP also includes a three-million dollar request for a “pay for performance” initiative. “We thought we might have to put that on hold for a bit because the accreditation model is changing. So we want to put in pin in that,” Hairston explained.
Another request would spend more than a million dollars to expand Danville’s Pre-K program. There are also two proposed efforts to boost literacy.
Assistant School Superintendent Dr. Andrea Gillus says it may be some time before any of these projects get funded. “As the casino revenues come in hopefully city leaders will begin starting some of these initiatives,” Gillus told the School Board. “None of these are included in the current budget. These are long-term, future plans.”
The city has only recently begun to specifically allocate casino tax revenue. City Council last month approved a resolution to amend the current budget to add two million additional dollars in tax revenue from the temporary Caesars Virginia Casino and Resort on West Main Street. Staff recommended Council earmark a million dollars for a large splash pad at Ballou Park. The second million will install underground electric lines along West Main Street in front of the casino and and adjacent properties.
The city has collected over nine million dollars so far in gaming-tax revenue from the casino. The city also gets reimbursement from a citing agreement with Caesars.
The permanent Caesars Virginia Casino and Resort is expected to open before the end of the year.
The School Board voted unanimously Thursday to sign off on the Superintendent’s improvement plan.