ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 6, 1996 TAG: 9604080091
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Facing $1.5 million in cuts from City Council, the Radford School Board slashed school equipment funding and reduced teacher pay raises so that it could meet budget restrictions Thursday.
Just moments earlier, the School Board had become only the second in Western Virginia to vote not to support Goals 2000. The federal program would provide the state $6.6 million to pay for educational materials, teacher training and curriculum development.
Gov. George Allen rejected the money, fearing federal government intrusion into state schools. The General Assembly said if two-thirds of local school boards support the funding, the state would request the money.
Despite the carrot of $6.6 million next year, School Board Chairman Guy Gentry said he saw "plenty of strings" attached to the funding.
But Betty Whitley, president-elect of the Radford Education Association, said Goals 2000 has no more requirements than other federal programs.
"We don't turn our back on Title I funding," which provides money based on economic need, she said. "It means to us extra money - that's the bottom line."
For most at Thursday's meeting, the bottom line on the school budget was a bit too slim.
"We all felt the disappointment of the underfunding by City Council, but you were left with the tough decisions." Whitley said.
Last month, Radford City Council cut $1.5 million from the proposed school budget. In order to meet the cuts, the board decided to cut the entire $392,448 budgeted for computer equipment, though $150,000 in grant money will soften the blow.
Requests from the schools for supplies were cut $726,134. That leaves $22,665 - or about $15 per pupil - for the schools to use.
When the board met two weeks ago, it also grappled with how much to cut the proposed 5 percent increase for teachers.
A majority of the board supported a 3 percent increase. The two outgoing members - Gentry and Chris Strange - wanted to trim other items and give teachers a 3.5 percent increase.
Including that extra 0.5 percent, Whitley said, was a way for the board to show a vote of confidence in its teachers.
"We ask that you recognize and reward [teacher] dedication rather than cut further what City Council has already pared," Whitley said.
Strange was the only member to vote against the $8.6 million operating budget Thursday.
"When you break that salary down [the 0.5 difference] may not be a lot per person, but it was the principle of the thing," he said.
But Vice Chairman Chip Craig said the board had to cut the budget "to the bone."
"It came down to things like whether to cut a new textbook program," he said Friday. "We were playing with pocket change by the time we came up with the 3 percent."
The School Board also added 10 minutes to the final 35 days of school this year. That adds up to 350 minutes, or an entire day of school.
The schools would finish one day earlier - on June 11 for elementary schools and June 12 for secondary schools so the final teacher work day will land on a Friday, rather than a Saturday or Monday.
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