ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke County's schools will not get nearly the amount of money they want next year, according to the chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
"No, we don't have that much money," chairman Bob Johnson said when asked if supervisors will provide a $7.9 million increase in local funds.
Bob Johnson answered quickly.
"No, we don't have that much money," the chairman of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors said when asked if supervisors will provide an increase of $7.9 million, or about 20 percent, in local funds for schools in the next school year.
That is what it would require to balance the $85.2 million school budget submitted to the supervisors.
The School Board might receive less than half the requested increase, although Johnson said no decision has been made.
Supervisors appropriated $38 million in local funds for schools this year. School officials have asked for $45.9 million next year.
The switch to an elected School Board has brought a new approach to the school budget - and put more political pressure on the county governing body.
Instead of paring down budget requests from county educators, as traditionally has been done, the School Board forwarded the entire package to supervisors.
"We are doing things a little differently. We feel the Board of Supervisors needs to know our needs," said Jerry Canada, chairman of the School Board. "We will try to negotiate the best deal we can get."
School Board member Tom Leggette said the supervisors should be aware of the needs in equipment and technology as well as personnel and salaries.
"We should not be a filter to screen out the requests," Leggette said. "We need to present them to the supervisors."
Johnson said some county officials are not thrilled about the new approach, but the School Board has the right to submit whatever requests it chooses.
Canada talked with Johnson about the issue several weeks ago, before the School Board began work on the budget. Some school administrators have been frustrated because they say many of their budget needs have never been submitted to supervisors in the past, Canada said.
Johnson said Canada asked him if it would be objectionable for the School Board to submit all of the requests.
"I told him they're an independently elected body, and we need to respect their wishes. But that doesn't mean we'll be able to provide all of the money they're requesting," Johnson said.
Although the School Board is elected, it has no power to tax or raise funds for schools. It must depend on the supervisors to fund its operating budget and to finance school improvements.
The increase in county revenue next year is expected to be in the range of $5.5 million, he said, but no decision has been made on how the money will be split with the schools.
Supervisors will meet with School Board members next week to discuss the budget and school improvements in the aftermath of the defeat of the school bond referendum.
While schools are a high priority, Windsor Hills Supervisor Lee Eddy said, the county has many other needs next year. In the past, supervisors have split new revenue with the schools 50-50, but that could change.
"I don't know where the money would come from to fund all of the schools' requests," Eddy said. "This is a different approach. I haven't sorted it all out yet."
Supervisors already have voted not to raise the real estate tax rate for next year. Because of voters' complaints during the recent bond referendum about rising property assessments, supervisors would be unlikely to raise the tax rate of $1.13 per $100 assessed valuation.
"We can't increase taxes to provide more money for schools. The citizens told us that in the bond referendum," said Cave Spring Supervisor Fuzzy Minnix.
"Obviously, schools are a high priority for all of us, but we don't have as much money as the School Board would like to have," Minnix said. "That would take everything we have got, and we have a lot of needs on the county side, too."
Minnix said the new approach has put more pressure on the supervisors, but that is part of the job.
The schools will receive an increase of $2.1 million in state funds, but they will have to use $750,000 of that to make up a one-time appropriation from the county and surplus funds that were used to balance this year's budget.
Three categories account for more than $5.5 million of the budget increase: average 5 percent pay raises for teachers and other employees; instructional equipment such as computer labs, printers and musical instruments; and additional personnel, including special-education teachers.
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