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

DATE: THURSDAY, March 3, 1994                   TAG: 9403030152
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

SCHOOL BOARD OKS VIDEO CAMERAS, CODE FOR TEACHERS

The Montgomery County School Board passed policies covering video cameras on school buses, a code of ethics for teachers and other much-discussed issues in a meeting that lasted until 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The board voted with one abstention to add video cameras to county school buses. It also voted unanimously to create a sick-leave bank, which would allow employees to donate unused sick days as a kind of insurance in case of catastrophic illness.

The board finally passed the code of ethics for teachers, which in a former incarnation angered the faculty, which believed the code was condescending. The code's original wording admonished teachers not to engage in idle gossip.

The board passed a mission and vision statement based on the goals of Focus 2006. "Now the rubber starts meeting the road," said School Board Vice Chairman Robert Goncz.

The board members talked at length about where they could put the mission statement - on fliers, on business cards, on T-shirts - but when they asked Superintendent Herman Bartlett which goal of the 2006 commission would be addressed first, he replied, "We're still in the very early stages of collecting that data."

The board passed a resolution on how teachers and bus drivers would make up two missed school days. Teachers will make up the last two workdays, now class days, the week of June 20th. Bus drivers were asked to take a cut in pay, or make up the days by washing buses, working in the bus garage, or substituting on field trips. These suggestions from seven drivers were gathered by John Martin, assistant superintendent in charge of facilities.

One driver complained during the board's public comment session that field trips do not equal a route, and that drivers often worked off the clock. In general, she said, they were in the dark about the plan to make up missed days.

"I don't think we do enough for our drivers," Board member Barry Worth said.

"We're kind of learning as we go with some of these things," Bartlett said.

Before the board went into a two-hour executive session to discuss personnel, it decided to begin talking about the process of how to name the new Blacksburg elementary school at the next meeting, though they have until May to choose a name.

Worth urged members to begin this month. "We ain't never done nothing overnight, and I don't expect this to be any different."

by CNB