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

DATE: THURSDAY, September 30, 1993                   TAG: 9310050311
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By MICHAEL CSOLLANY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PROPOSED PAY SCALE TO DRIVE SCHOOL BUDGET BOARD

The scale - recommended by a salary feasibility committee of board members, teachers, and administrators - would include an initial 10 percent increase in salary costs for administrators and teachers. Assistant Superintendent John Martin said such an increase is needed to keep the county schools competitive.

``We simply get outbid for our experienced teachers,'' he said.

The proposed scale also calls for regular salary increases for both teachers and administrators, based on years of experience.

George Porterfield, principal of Christiansburg High School, said two of his assistant principals - a new hire and a nine-year veteran - are making the same base salary.

``One would expect a salary scale that matches our contributions to some degree,'' he said.

School Board member Donald Lacy - also a member of the salary committee - explained that each delay in adjusting the scale only increases the ultimate cost.

``If we would have done this three years ago,'' he said, ``it would have been at 40 percent of this cost.''

Board members stressed that the use of the new scale as the driver of the next budget does not necessarily mean it has been approved by the board.

It simply means that salaries will be considered first, but if the use of the scale means that other programs will be jeopardized, several board members said they would reconsider.

``No one is committing to this tonight,'' Superintendent Herman Bartlett said.

In another matter, residents of the Shawsville area urged the board - which met at the Shawsville High and Middle School - not to forget ``the outlying schools'' of the county.

Several parents asked the board to pay for completion of athletic field renovations, which were started three years ago.

``It's costing us not having this completed,'' said Tony Graham, father of four children in county schools. Graham said the board should consider that it costs the county money to bus athletic teams to other schools for practice and games.

``We deserve here in Shawsville to have our Sports Complex completed. I'm afraid [my children] are going to be graduated and gone before they ever get to use it,'' he said.

Elliston PTA representative Robin Garrett asked the board to address the Elliston-Lafayette Elementary School's water quality. She said there are water-pressure problems, and the water sometimes smells or tastes unusual.