Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 9, 1995 TAG: 9505090108
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER AND SARAH HUNTLEY STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Roanoke County schools, which just weeks ago predicted a nearly $1 million deficit, could reap the riches if supervisors give thumbs-up to the proposed 1995-96 budget unveiled by the county staff Monday.
It will take more than a wave of a magic wand, however. To reduce the shortfall and provide raises for teachers and other school employees, both the county and the schools will have to give some.
Here's the plan: County Administrator Elmer Hodge would allocate an additional $650,000 to help reduce the shortfall in the $75.9 million school budget. In return, School Superintendent Deanna Gordon would delete $238,000 from the maintenance reserve account, agree to use $400,000 from the year-end balance and make other budget adjustments.
And poof! The $960,000 deficit in the school budget is gone, and the School Board winds up with an additional $440,000 to provide bigger raises than expected.
Teachers had expected an average 4 percent raise. If the School Board approves Gordon's recommendation, the teachers will get an average 4.8 percent increase.
That would give an unexpected boost to the county's five-year goal to increase salaries to the national average. The county is now about $1,800 below that average.
News of the amicable county-school agreement came Monday, when Hodge released his proposed budget.
Hodge said he would provide the additional $650,000 because the county's year-end surplus will be larger than projected. In addition, the General Assembly provided more money than anticipated for some programs and services, he said.
Education isn't the only beneficiary under Hodge's proposed $92.6 million spending plan. Other county employees and public safety departments would benefit as well.
The proposed budget includes an average 4.8 percent raise for the county's nonschool employees, although Hodge said it wouldn't be an across-the-board increase. Instead, the increased funding could be used to adjust inequitable pay scales, including the one that plagues the Police Department.
``We'll have to work with our departments to determine how that money will be allocated,'' Hodge said.
At the request of the employee salary committee, $20,000 would be allocated for a salary study.
Public safety departments would gain 10 new police vehicles; $43,771 to add an assistant commonwealth's attorney; an improved security system for the courthouse; and $150,000 for a jail expansion feasibility study.
Hodge's budget also allocates nearly $80,000 for a facility to clean refuse vehicles; another $80,000 to remove four underground fuel tanks; and what the county hopes will be the final $250,000 payout to clean up the Dixie Caverns Superfund site.
Nonetheless, education is undoubtedly the princess in Hodge's proposed budget. The county would increase its allocation to schools by 10.5 percent, or $4.75 million, next year. That includes $2.9 million in new revenue - 53 percent of the county's total new revenue - and $1.85 million out of the current year's anticipated surplus.
The school budget also includes funds to finance a $10.1 million bond issue that includes architectural and engineering fees for a new Cave Spring High School; a new gym for Northside High School; an auditorium for Northside Middle School; and improvements to Fort Lewis Elementary and other schools.
The School Board will use $350,000 of its share of the county's year-end surplus for recurring expenses. Hodge has advised against using one-time revenues to balance the budget, but the School Board has done that in the past.
With any fairy tale, there are losers - and some needs under Hodge's proposed budget would go unmet. Among them: a request by the Sheriff's Office for six more deputies to increase courthouse security, and an early retirement plan for county employees.
For the first time, however, Hodge's proposed budget also sets aside $298,000 to be allocated at the discretion of the supervisors. That money could be used to reduce utility rates, replace vehicles, increase donations to human service and cultural organizations or fund greenways, Hodge said.
The Board of Supervisors will react to the budget and propose changes at a work session scheduled for 3 p.m. today at the Brambleton Center. A public hearing on the budget will be held at the county administration building May 23 at 7 p.m.
by CNB