Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 28, 1995 TAG: 9506280022
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Chairman Nelson Harris and Board member Melinda Payne said Tuesday they will press for city teachers' salaries to be raised to the national average.
Payne and Harris were sworn in at a ceremony that attracted about two dozen school and city officials.
Payne was appointed to fill the seat previously held by Don Poff, who did not seek another term. Harris, chairman for one year, is beginning his second three-year term.
"We've got to get our salaries up so we can attract and keep the best teachers," Payne said. "I want to push hard for that."
She said she also will insist that the schools provide quality programs for all children - average students, as well as the gifted and disadvantaged.
"You've got the kids in between, and there is nothing targeted for them," she said. "We need to put more emphasis on them."
Payne, New River Valley circulation manager for the Roanoke Times & World-News, said she will be an advocate for children.
Harris said the School Board and City Council will have to make a substantial financial commitment to raise salaries to the national average.
The board has been raising salaries gradually in recent years, but it has not been fast enough to satisfy some teachers.
Harris said he also wants the board to focus on reducing the dropout rate and addressing attendance problems.
The dropout rate has decreased from 7 percent to 5 percent in the past two years, but school officials want to reduce it more.
Over the next three years, Harris said, the renovation of the city's middle schools also will be a priority for the board. Work began this month on a $6 million modernization of Jackson Middle School. Renovation of Breckinridge, Addison and Woodrow Wilson middle schools is scheduled in the next three years.
by CNB