Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 27, 1994 TAG: 9401280007
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MARA LEE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
After debating primarily those issues until midnight, the board changed nothing in its $46.2 million proposed budget.
Many parents and teachers expressed disappointment that over the last month the board had discussed at length lowering class sizes and fixing the salary scale, but took no action.
B.J. Mullins, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, said in her comments to the board, ``We began to believe that all the talk was more than hollow rhetoric.''
Others criticized the board for buckling under to the county Board of Supervisors' desire for an austere budget.
Jim Johnson, co-chairman of FOCUS 2006, a long-term planning initiative for improving county schools, sent a speech to the board. In it he said, ``While I commend the administration and the School Board for trying to strengthen relations with the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, I do not think it should be done at the expense of failing to communicate the needs of the county school system. I am concerned that the current working budget communicates to the Board of Supervisors what they want to hear and not what they need to hear.''
Fifteen of the county's 18 Parent Teacher Associations, represented by Regina Smith, echoed the 2006 commission's complaint. The PTAs appreciate added elementary art teachers, more elementary guidance counselors and more musical instruments, she said, but added, ``How sad that these three initiatives seem to be the total of your vision for this county.''
These were the only three additions that the School Board made to the superintendent's budget.
One of the few compliments was from Robin Garrett, head of the Elliston-Lafayette PTA. ``We support the budget,'' she said. ``This is a budget that the Board of Supervisors should surely pass with no problem.'' The audience barely clapped after her speech.
The board seemed willing to reconsider the budget after the angry tone of the hourlong citizens' comment session, but when most proposals came down to straw votes, the board continued to split 5-4 or 6-3, fiscal conservatives in the majority.
Debate at times became heated. ``There's no way we can fix everything at one time,'' said board member Rebecca Raines.
Board member Don Lacy replied, ``This is not sudden and this is not new. [Class size] has been before us for seven years. If you choose not to address it, that's fine. That's what every board I have sat on for seven years has chosen to do. We won't distinguish ourselves at all.''
The board did vote 5-4 to add five elementary school teachers and four trailers in the hope that no elementary school class would have more than 25 students - but when it came time for a vote to add the $290,500 it would cost, only Vice Chairman Bob Goncz remained on the yes side.
The exact same parliamentarian process repeated on the hiring of three aides for elementary gifted and talented classes, which would have cost $37,500.
Goncz explained that the votes melted away because several could not ultimately support the additions because the budget total was still too small.
Superintendent Herman Bartlett now has the job of selling the $46.2 million budget, which is $3.6 million more than this year's funding. The budget would require $1.2 million more in local funds, up 6.3 percent.
The increase mostly will pay for the new elementary school and a 3 percent raise for all employees.
Will the supervisors go for a higher budget in a barely better than flat economy? Bartlett said, ``Let me do the old political ploy'' of not really answering a question.
Goncz was not so careful. ``It may come back just like it was,'' but that's highly doubtful, he said. When the cut budget comes back, ``That's when the fun really starts. This was a cakewalk compared to that.''
by CNB