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

DATE: TUESDAY, April 11, 1995                   TAG: 9504110114
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD CUTS BUDGET

The county Board of Supervisors - holder of the purse strings - has tentatively approved a budget that gives the school system about $540,000 in extra money.

Monday, the School Board revisited its proposal and made the $400,000 gap disappear.

According to Superintendent Len Gereau, the board cut funding in five areas:

Hospitalization: A proposed $20 monthly increase in the amount paid by the schools toward employee health care premiums was cut to $10, saving $56,000.

Transportation: Two new school buses and a four-wheel-drive vehicle for county staff were eliminated, saving $115,000.

Facilities: Replacement of an underground gas tank at Franklin County High School, replacement of gymnasium roofs at Ferrum and Sontag elementary schools and several other smaller projects were cut, saving $170,000.

Technology: Replacement of computers in the division's central office was cut, saving $14,000.

Operation and maintenance: Several small projects were axed, saving $35,000.

The board approved the updated proposal unanimously, Gereau said.

The revised school budget - totaling $34.9 million - now goes back to the Board of Supervisors, which has set an April 18 public hearing on the 1995-96 county budget and tax rates. The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. in the supervisors' board room on the second floor of the county courthouse.

The board has approved a preliminary budget of $51.8 million, a $6.8 million increase from 1994-95. School funds account for two-thirds of the budget.

A real estate tax rate for 1995-96 was advertised at 55 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Because of this year's reassessment - which resulted in an average 25 percent increase in property values - calculations showed the board could lower this year's 60-cent rate to 50 cents to get the same amount of revenue.

The board decided to advertise the rate at 55 cents.

The tax residents will pay depends on the results of the assessments.

For example: A $50,000 home that was reassessed and increased in value 25 percent would be worth $62,500 now. At the proposed 55-cent rate, the owner would pay $343.75 in taxes. At the old rate of 60 cents - and the old $50,000 reassessment - the owner paid $300.

According to state law, the board can only reduce, not increase, the advertised tax rate.