Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 6, 1994 TAG: 9404060084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The question is: How much?
Maybe $800,000. Maybe a little more. Maybe not.
That was the best guess Tuesday night after school officials spent nearly two hours before the Board of Supervisors pleading their case for the additional $1.6 million above the $2.5 million the county already has agreed to provide.
If the School Board doesn't get at least $800,000 of the $1.6 million request, it might have to cut teacher pay raises, said Chairman Frank Thomas.
Even if the board gets half of the request, Thomas said, it still may have to consider trimming teacher raises.
The School Board received the most sympathetic response from Supervisor Bob Johnson.
Johnson, a former teacher, said the time has come for the county to give more attention and money to schools.
The county has been busy with projects such as a landfill, reservoir, airport terminal and others in recent years - all projects that were needed, he said.
But the schools have been barely able to maintain a quality standard of education because of financial constraints, Johnson said.
Johnson said he was concerned that Roanoke and Salem have proposed higher teacher raises than the county. Roanoke's raises would average 4.6 percent; Salem's, 3.5 percent.
The county's proposed $72.6 million school budget would provide an average raise of 3 percent for teachers.
Johnson said the county can't keep attracting quality teachers if it falls behind in salaries. He suggested the School Board may want to consider a higher raise for teachers.
County Administrator Elmer Hodge has proposed that the county split the new local tax revenue with the schools on a 50-50 basis, in keeping with the county's recent policy. With an increase of $5 million expected, the schools' share would be $2.5 million.
But Johnson said there is nothing sacred about the 50-50 split. The Board of Supervisors can change it so the schools would get more, he said.
While Johnson hesitated to hold out hope that the schools would get all of the $1.6 million, he said the county can afford to do more.
Hodge said he is willing "to distribute the [tax revenue] pie in any way" the supervisors want. He said education has been a priority for him, and he is sorry the schools have received such a small percentage of the county's overall budget in recent years.
"We have had to do some things that have been necessary for a growing county," Hodge said.
Supervisor Ed Kohinke said after the meeting that he also is convinced the schools need the money.
Chairman Lee Eddy and Supervisor Fuzzy Minnix said they didn't want to make a commitment on the School Board's request until they have reviewed the budget requests from all county departments.
Supervisor Harry Nickens, who said earlier that the county couldn't afford to provide the additional $1.6 million, reiterated that position Tuesday night.
Nickens said he believes the supervisors will be fair with the schools, but the county doesn't have the money to approve the School Board's request in full.
The supervisors took no action on the board's request. Eddy said that would come later, during the budget study.
Thomas said he is optimistic the supervisors will provide at least $800,000, but the School Board needs all of the money.
Thomas said he agreed with Johnson's comments on the need for higher raises for teachers, but the School Board had many needs to consider in putting together the budget.
"Our needs are rising, and we didn't have enough funds to do everything we would like," Thomas said. Superintendent Bayes Wilson said the board is trying to provide the largest raises with the limited funds.
by CNB