Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 9, 1994 TAG: 9404090020
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
So say county School Board members in asking the Board of Supervisors for an additional $1.6 million to help balance the school budget for next year.
The budget request includes $300,000 for projected increases in electricity and other utility bills, partly because air-conditioning systems have been installed at several schools in the past year.
One of the smaller items is $3,000 to cover more mailings and a possible increase in postal rates.
The $1.6 million list includes more than 25 categories, including remedial tutors, a sewing lab, computer technology for libraries and higher tuition costs for special-education students.
Whether the schools will get all of the additional money remains uncertain, but School Board members say all of the items are needs - not frills.
"This is truly a budget of need. We need the funds to continue a first-class school system," said Frank Thomas, chairman of the School Board.
"We must have the money for higher utility costs, higher expenses for special education and other needs," Thomas told the Board of Supervisors during a recent joint meeting.
County officials have agreed to provide an additional $2.5 million in local tax revenue for pay raises for teachers and other expenses.
But school officials say that is not enough. They are awaiting the supervisors' decision on the additional $1.6 million.
The request also includes $165,390 to make up for the potential loss of revenue if the schools are unable to collect student fees.
School officials have asked the state Department of Education for a clarification on whether they can continue to collect fees for lockers and some course materials.
The state has banned textbook rental fees, but the legality of the other fees is uncertain.
The board also is asking for $116,664 for workbooks, laboratory equipment, materials for art and music courses and other instructional supplies.
Jerry Hardy, director of budget and data management for the schools, said Parent Teacher Associations at some schools have raised money in recent years to help pay for supplies.
"This is an effort to provide some materials so we don't have to rely on PTAs for so much," Hardy said.
The schools face a projected $120,000 increase in tuition for special-education students in the regional program. The city expects an increase in special-education students, and the state has reduced its share for operational costs from 60 percent to 55 percent.
The budget includes $85,000 for installation of a synergistic laboratory at a middle school to replace an old industrial arts lab. "This would have the latest in technology and equipment," Hardy said.
A $32,235 request would cover increased salary supplements for coaches, yearbook sponsors, band directors, choir directors and other faculty sponsors of extracurricular activities.
Hardy said the county also needs to raise the salary for teachers of the homebound from $9 to $10 an hour because it is becoming harder to find them at the current pay.
The schools are required to provide teachers for students who can't come to school because of chronic illness or other reasons. The higher pay for these teachers will cost $33,255.
The smaller items are just as important, although some may involve only a few students, Hardy said.
There is $6,222 to replace equipment in a sewing-machine lab in the home economics program at Cave Spring Junior High.
The budget includes $2,500 for interpreters and other services that must be provided to disabled students to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The board has asked for $50,000 for carpeting and a similar amount for emergency maintenance at school buildings.
The School Board is in a financial bind because state aid for the county will increase by $460,000 next year. By comparison, Roanoke will receive an increase of $3.1 million in state aid.
Local funds are needed to cover most of the $4.5 million increase in the $72.6 million budget.
Thomas said the schools' needs go beyond the additional $1.6 million request.
The School Board will seek a $500,000 low-interest loan from the Virginia Public School Authority to pay for repairs and improvements at several schools next year.
Superintendent Bayes Wilson said the board decided to apply for the loan because the school budget already requires an increase of $4.1 million in local funds.
"Our budget is already so high that we decided not to include some needed projects in it and instead go for a loan," Wilson said.
The projects to be financed with the $500,000 loan include:
Roof replacements and repairs at several schools, $100,000.
An elevator at Glen Cove Elementary School, $125,000.
Bleachers at William Byrd High School, $65,000.
Baseball field improvements at Cave Spring High School, $14,750.
Heating and air conditioning at schools, $95,250.
Improvements to make several buildings more accessible for the disabled, $100,000.
Superintendent-elect Deanna Gordon said it will probably take the school system several years to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act at all schools.
School officials hope to make all buildings easily accessible to the disabled to avoid a lawsuit. Localities were supposed to have complied with the law by July 1, 1993, but many have not.
"I'd hate to see us hit with a lawsuit over this," said Lee Eddy, chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
by CNB