
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990                   TAG: 9003081876
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FINCASTLE                                 LENGTH: Medium

BOTETOURT OKS SCHOOL BUDGET WITH PAY RAISE

A $17.5 million school budget for 1990-91 that includes a 5 percent pay raise for teachers was adopted Wednesday night by the Botetourt County School Board.

Superintendent C.S. McClure said the supervisors have indicated to the School Board that they want county teachers to receive the same pay increase mandated by the General Assembly. Legislators in Richmond included a 5 percent increase for teachers in a budget hammered out early this morning.

A 6 percent raise originally was discussed by the board. McClure said the change had to be made to compensate for less than anticipated state and local funding for schools.

No teachers opposed the move at Wednesday's meeting.

The $17.5 million budget as adopted is an increase of $1.2 million over last year's $16.3 million budget and includes three new special education positions and three new middle school positions needed to help phase the county into compliance with the state middle school concept.

The budget also includes the addition of one full-time maintenance worker. Overall, nearly 75 percent of the budget will go toward teacher and administrative support staff salaries.

Also included in the budget is money for the purchase of at least three new diesel school buses. McClure said that the diesel buses are each about $24,000 more expensive than standard buses, but last longer and offer savings in fuel costs.

Not included in the budget is an additional $125,000 promised the board by the supervisors for roof repairs at Breckinridge Elementary School and Eagle Rock Elementary School. That money would be generated from the county meals tax.

In other business, the board approved a five-year capital improvement plan that includes a projected $150,000 for planning the constructionof another school.

The new school would either be an elementary school, a second middle school or a central high school, to be determined after further study of county population growth.

The county operates six elementary schools, one intermediate school and two high schools.

The five-year plan indicates that it would cost an estimated $3.5 million to build a new elementary school, $7 million for a middle school and $12 million for a high school.

by CNB