Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 26, 1993 TAG: 9303260255
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SCHOOL PAY RAISES INCREASED
The Roanoke County School Board bumped average employee pay raises for next year from 2.5 percent to 3 percent Thursday night and passed a $73.9 million budget.An unexpected savings from lower health insurance premiums allowed the board to give school employees the larger pay increases, which will range from 2.5 percent to 4.8 percent, said Jerry Hardy, director of budget and data management.
The higher raises will cost the School Board an additional $350,000, he said.
But they should be a welcome relief to teachers, who asked board members at their last meeting to put any additional money into fixing pay scale inequities.
The health insurance boon also will save employees $25 each month on their share of the premiums, Superintendent Bayes Wilson said.
But the board will not be able to fund a gifted-program teacher, two part-time elementary guidance counselors or a speech pathologist, he said.
Board member Charlsie Pafford made an unsuccessful plea to the board to make those positions a priority should the state sales tax bring in more money than expected or should the county find more money for the schools in its budget.
The positions may have to take a back seat to new buses, said Chairman Frank Thomas. At $35,000 apiece, the buses cost the same as each of the positions in question.
"So we need at least $200,000," Pafford said.
Wilson said that while he would like to fund the new positions, he was happy to present a budget that didn't eliminate any old ones.
"Within the context of today's economy, we believe this budget is a responsible one," he said.
The budget, which includes $34 million in county money, also calls for:
Two special-education buses, at a cost of $90,318.
A $53,000 savings by shifting funding for one drug-education officer from the School Board's budget to the county's budget.
A 2.95 percent increase from last year's budget of $71 million.