Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 13, 1990 TAG: 9004130500
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
Though the School Board was told to reduce its spending, the cuts did not compare to reductions made in the past two years. And School Board members made it clear that they considered this year's smaller cuts a victory.
"I think the Board of Supervisors has confidence . . . in the school system that you have not seen in a number of years," said School Board member Russell Wright. Wright said he was "somewhat" disappointed that the budget was cut at all, but praised the supervisors for funding more than 99 percent of what the schools had asked for.
School Board member Ben Shrader seemed to take the supervisors' move as a sign. "I hope this is an indication that they trust us," he said.
Superintendent John Kent called the supervisors' budget decision "monumental." Most monumental, he said, was that the supervisors' vote on the budget last week was unanimous - something Kent said he could not remember seeing before.
Kent described input from members of parent-teacher organizations - who rallied for the schools budget in a public hearing - as instrumental in getting the money.
No positions were dropped or raises reduced to bring the budget into compliance with the supervisors' allotment. School Board members Thursday unanimously voted to cut the following proposed expenditures to bring their budget into balance:
$106,062 for new dictionaries.
$68,000 for repairs and fuel from the school transportation system, including buses.
$71,000 for costs of facilities, building and grounds.
$24,755 savings in the debt service category due to a less costly than anticipated sale of bonds.
by CNB