Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992 TAG: 9201080267
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
MONTGOMERY BUDGET SOARS FOR SCHOOLS
Superintendent Harold Dodge has presented the School Board a budget that's guaranteed to get the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors' attention.Dodge's proposal calls for school spending in the 1992-93 school year of $47.9 million compared with the $39.2 million budgeted for the current year. That's an increase of $8.75 million or 22.3 percent.
The county's share of the proposed budget would be $24.7 million. That's an increase of $6.4 million or 35 percent over the $18.3 million that the schools will receive from county taxpayers this year.
It's an ambitious budget for a county school system that has already suffered a cut of $500,000 in state funding support this year and is looking at a shortfall of another $200,000 in local sales tax revenue because of a lagging economy.
In fact, Dodge warned the School Board that the county will know in the next few days whether it faces a financial disaster this year. The county should have some indication soon whether the governor and General Assembly will help make up the expected shortfall in sales tax collections.
But School Board member Don Lacy of Blacksburg explained that for next year the board had directed Dodge to prepare a budget that is educationally sound. "We didn't ask him to look at fiscal restraints."
State law charges local school boards to look after the educational needs of a community but makes it the responsibility of the local governing body - in this case the supervisors - to decide how much of those needs it can afford to pay for.
In his 23 years in Montgomery County, the School Board has never presented the supervisors a strong educational budget that was not tempered by funding considerations, Lacy said. That appears about to change this year.
Many of the ideas that went into his proposed budget came from PTAs, teachers and others who spoke at public budget hearings in the fall, Dodge said.
Salary proposals were developed by teachers and other employee groups in consultation with Dodge. He was "together" with employees on their salary proposals, Dodge said.
Teachers would get a 16.7 percent raise under the proposal. The increase in salary and benefits for teachers would cost $3.95 million. Teachers got no raise this year.
Overall additional personnel costs under the proposed spending plan would be $5.06 million, a 30.4 percent increase over this year.
Dodge's budget anticipates an increase of $1.4 million in state funding next year, but the superintendent warned the board not to count on it.
Because of the county's budget calendar, the School Board must present its budget to the supervisors early in February. Lacy, however, said the School Board won't even know how much to expect in state funding at that time or have a good idea what the state's economy will look like next year.
"I feel we'll deal with the real issues in March and April rather than in January as we have in the past," Lacy said.