Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 2, 1994 TAG: 9403020156
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Other Western Virginia school systems have yet to decide how they would use additional funding.
The higher the percentage of students receiving free lunches, the more money a school system would receive under a plan that Democratic legislators predict will be approved by the General Assembly.
The House has approved the funding; the Senate Health and Education Committee will consider it this week.
Free lunches are considered to be an index of poverty and the number of at-risk children.
In 14 elementary schools, where more than half the students receive free lunches, the student-teacher ratio would be reduced to 18-to-1 or lower.
The ratio would be 20-to-1 or lower in seven schools where 25 percent to 50 percent of the students receive free lunches.
Roanoke's student-teacher ratio now for kindergarten through third grade is 20.9-to-1, said Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations.
Educators say smaller classes will help at-risk children because teachers can give more attention to each pupil.
Roanoke would receive $907,531 in disparity funds in the next year to hire the additional teachers. It also would receive an additional $47,469 in state funds to buy additional educational technology for middle and high schools.
Earlier projections indicated Roanoke would get an additional $1.1 million in the next year, but Kelley said the net increase would be $955,000.
The city actually would hire 30 more teachers for elementary schools next year, because five high school positions will be reallocated to the lower grades.
Kelley said the school system will be faced with a squeeze for classrooms to accommodate the additional teachers, because Wasena Elementary School will be closed next year for renovation.
But he believes that no temporary classrooms will be needed. "`We will be a little tight next year," he said, "but when Wasena reopens, we will have 14 more classrooms."
The city has 306 classroom teachers in 21 elementary schools, plus an additional 135 teachers for special education, physical education and other specialties.
Other school systems in the Roanoke Valley would receive smaller amounts of disparity funds and would add fewer teachers.
Roanoke County would receive $25,517, and Botetourt County, $17,224, for smaller classes. But they would receive $119,545 and $77,058 respectively for educational technology grants for high and middle schools.
Salem would receive no funds for smaller classes in the early elementary grades, because all of its kindergarten through third grade schools have less than 25 percent of their students enrolled in the free-lunch program. But Salem would receive $22,842 for educational technology grants.
Franklin County would receive $258,327 in disparity funds, but administrators there are trying to get more detailed information from the state before they decide whether more teachers will be hired.
"We keep hearing rumors about how the money can be used, but we don't have anything in writing," said Superintendent Leonard Gereau. "We don't know if we need more classrooms."
Bedford County would receive $240,602, but school administrators are trying to determine whether more teachers would have to be hired for the disparity plan.
Superintendent John Kent said Bedford meets the 20-to-1 ratio for the entire system, but he is checking to see if the county meets the ratio for all classes in kindergarten through third grade in schools where more than 25 percent of the students qualify for free lunches.
Because Bedford County is growing by 200 students a year, Kent said, the school system will have to hire about 10 more teachers next year, even if none is needed for the disparity plan.
Because of the disparity plan, Roanoke's proposed school budget will be about $1.2 million larger than Superintendent Wayne Harris' preliminary $72.3 million plan.
Roanoke expects to receive $3 million in additional state aid, up from the $2.1 million projected before the disparity plan was developed.
Kelley said the school system also expects to receive $200,000 more because of projected growth in local tax revenues.
Earlier, finance officials estimated that the school system's share of the revenue increase would be $708,000, but they now project it to be $908,000.
Kelley said school officials are considering several options for using the additional funds, including the possibility of larger pay raises for teachers, more elementary guidance counselors and visiting teachers.
In the preliminary budget, Harris recommended a 4 percent raise for teacher, 3.5 percent for school-based administrators and 3 percent for central office administrators.
Harris has made salaries one of his top priorities. The School Board will consider the revised budget at its meeting next Tuesday.
\ Disparity funds\ \ Locality Reduced K-3 class size\ Bedford Co. $240,602\ Botetourt Co. $17,224\ Franklin Co. $258,327\ Roanoke Co. $25,517\ Roanoke $907,531\ Salem 0*\ * No school with at least 25 percent free-lunch students
by CNB