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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 8, 1993                   TAG: 9312080281
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

$72 MILLION PROPOSED FOR SCHOOLS

He also called on the School Board to approve a $7.5 million, five-year technology plan which he said should be funded through capital bond issues and private donations.

The money would help erase technology disparities in the city's 29 schools, providing at least five interactive computers for each classroom, Harris said.

School Board Chairman Charles Day commended Harris, who took over as superintendent July 1, on his 35-minute slide show and explanation of the school system's finances.

The budget Harris submitted showed "a great deal of vision," said Vice Chairwoman Wendy O'Neil. The board will not vote on the budget for several months, following six hearings during which members of the public may comment on the spending plan.

Based on revenue estimates provided by City Manager Bob Herbert, the proposed budget reflects a 4.2 percent increase from last year and an average teacher pay raise of 4 percent, Harris said.

The raises reflect the first stage of a three-year plan to make city teachers' salaries more competitive - not just in the Roanoke Valley and Virginia but nationwide, he said.

The increase would push starting pay for city teachers from $23,700 this year to $24,700 next year, said Dick Kelley, who recently was promoted to assistant superintendent for operations.

"We want to see [starting pay] go up $1,000 per year for three years," Kelley said.

Under the proposed budget, teachers with less than 10 years experience and classified employees earning less than $21,000 would get the highest average raises, at 4 percent. Principals and assistant principals would average 3.5 percent raises; central office staff - including high school principals - would get 3 percent.

Pay raises would actually range from 2.6 percent to 18.6 percent, Harris said. Of $2.9 million in new money, he's proposing that $1.93 million will go toward salary increases.

How teachers will receive the news remains unclear.

"I need a chance to look it over," said Mercedes James, president of the Roanoke Education Association. James learned of the pay raise proposal at Tuesday night's board meeting.

James and others interested in the budget will have plenty of time to examine the document. Harris said he submitted it in December, rather than in February - as is customary - to give the public more time to review and comment on his spending plan.

Harris has scheduled four budget meetings, beginning Tuesday, for public comment. There will be one in each quadrant of the city, plus two public hearings before the School Board.

The proposed budget also includes:

Moving five secondary teaching positions to the elementary schools to reduce class sizes in the earlier grades.

An additional 3.6 school nurse positions - at $131,425 - bringing the city's total to 10.4 nursing slots.

\ IN OTHER BUSINESS\ THE ROANOKE SCHOOL BOARD\ \ Received the first updated student discipline policy since 1982. The document, still in draft form, would require automatically recommending expulsion for students who possess or sell drugs or firearms or cause serious injury to another person. The board will receive an updated draft of the written procedures for its endorsement in January.