Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 21, 1991 TAG: 9104190212
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ELIZABETH OBENSHAIN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Which county in the New River Valley - no, let's make it all of Western Virginia - managed to give its teachers a 3.5 percent raise for next year, despite painful state budget cuts?
No, not Montgomery.
You're wrong again. It wasn't Roanoke County, either.
It was - brace yourself! - Giles.
That little county with the scenic views and the big communities of Pembroke, Newport and Pearisburg has managed, through close fiscal management, to cut costs in its school system. These savings, together with $60,000 in new money from the Board of Supervisors, will finance teacher raises next year.
"Wow," sums up the response from Richmond. "I can tell you that, statewide, there are few school systems giving raises. This is certainly good news," said Kathy Kitchen, a division chief with the state Department of Education.
It was a tough year for schools. Giles will receive $234,000 less in state funds. Larger counties in the region, including Montgomery, face cuts of over $1 million dollars.
Local governments have not had an easy time replacing the state cuts. The most straightforward solution of simply raising the tax rate has not been an answer for most.
Even in Montgomery, where affluent, highly educated parents plead for higher taxes to finance the schools, the supervisors find themselves in the middle of a tense division between these "haves" and the "barely haves," whose family budgets are already stretched too thin by the recession.
For most counties this year, the answer was to cut school funding - and forget teacher raises.
So how did Giles County do it?
Teamwork, said the county's new superintendent, Robert McCracken. The team included the community: teachers, students, business. They made some tough decisions for the schools.
McCracken and the School Board started working over a year ago to cut costs and position the schools in "reaction to the impending doom and gloom on the state level."
Some decisions were painful. The board closed two schools, cut its administrative staff and reduced positions for both teachers and non-professional staff in its schools. Next year, the county school's administrative staff will total four people.
The schools also began looking for other resources: grants to finance new positions, volunteers from local industries. "It makes the climate a bit easier. My guess is if the people holding the purse strings know you are out looking" they will be a little more willing to help when you turn to them for more dollars, McCracken said.
Last October, McCracken and the board began working through the budget and consulting with County Administrator Ken Weaver on additional ways the schools could cut costs.
With the schools accounting for 75 percent of Giles' budget, it made sense to both administrators to work together.
The Board of Supervisors had nothing but praise for the way the two men cooperated in what may be the tightest year ever for funding school services - and teacher raises.
In the end, the supervisors were unanimous in supporting a $60,000 increase in local funding for the schools to help pay for the raises.
Said Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard Williams, "As far as priorities, I think education is No. 1 in Giles County, and industrial development is No. 2."
Not every county had the options available to Giles. Its system, with 2,600 students, had declining enrollment at a time of budget cuts, whereas Montgomery has had to cope with growing enrollment and constructing new schools at a time when it is losing $1.4 million from its budget.
The budget decisions may grow even tougher next year - and the year after. As taxpayers, we may have to make some painful dollar decisions soon - that is, whether we are willing to support spending more local tax dollars on schools or whether our schools and our graduates will be found lacking tomorrow when companies come looking for an educated work force in the valley.
by CNB