ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605160003
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
The Pulaski County School Board was supposed to cut its proposed 1996-97 budget Monday night. But that didn't happen at first.
The board finally came within $31,000 to $116,000 of reaching the needed $255,000 reduction from its budget projections. The wide range is because some items still remained undecided after Monday's five-hour session, which included nearly three hours behind closed doors to discuss specific employees.
Another meeting is set for May 23 to resolve the gap.
School officials originally asked for $371,612 in new county tax money for next year. The Board of Supervisors approved $116,000.
Superintendent Bill Asbury and his staff listed some options, such as scaling back teacher and employee raises from 2.3 percent to 2 percent, and dropping a proposed new psychologist, an elementary counselor and two assistant principal positions, among others. "The staff is simply floating some balloons here for you to look at," he said.
Reactions were quick in coming.
"If there is any way we can put that psychologist back in there, I'd like to see us do it," Chairman Lewis Pratt said. Member Jeff Bain agreed.
"I'm not going to stand still for the teacher [salary] reduction," said member Rhea Saltz. "I want to keep instruction as much as possible."
Saltz thought the Pulaski County High School English department could lose one teacher, making it even with the mathematics department. "And I would like to eliminate an elementary music position," he said.
Beth Nelson said she would hate to see the arts cut. She also felt strongly that the additional elementary counselor was badly needed, and suggested cutting athletic programs before chopping academics.
She did support proposed new girls' softball and soccer programs. "I don't want to see a girls' team cut unless we cut a boys' team," she said. "It may be that we are at the point where we have to tell the community we cannot support all the sports we have ... I know the phones will ring. They'll ring quicker on that than they will on instruction."
That prompted a plea for continued sports programs support from Pulaski County High School head football coach Joel Hicks, who said athletics are a minor part of the budget and coaches are paid "peanuts," anyway. He said his five assistant football coaches number no more than those at other schools.
"What you're getting out of athletics is unbelievable for our students, for the money that you spend," he said. "The dropout rate is almost nil." Students participating in sports, band or drama generally have higher grades as well, he said.
Nelson said the grades argument was a good one, and applies to students in arts classes as well.
Bain suggested saving money in meeting space needs by purchasing secondhand mobile classrooms, like those no longer being used at New River Community College. Too late, said Ron Chaffin, a School Board member who is chairman of the community college's industrial technologies division. He said the units already had been torn down because nobody wanted them.
Harry DeHaven, the school system's operations director, said the cheapest portable unit would cost about $21,000, would last only five years, have leaky windows, doors and no plumbing. Other expenses such as power, handicapped access and furniture would cost as much as the unit itself, he said.
"Your additions list far exceeds your reductions list at this point," Asbury observed.
Saltz asked for a closed session to discuss specific employee contracts. Walt Shannon, the school system's business manager, said adding or dropping positions could be discussed in open session with names attached. "I'm handling this, OK?" Saltz responded.
The closed session lasted nearly three hours, and the board emerged with agreement to keep the 2.3 percent salary increase, workplace competency and technologies programs, new textbooks, two new positions to teach critical skills in lower grades, 2.5 new custodian positions and a full-time band assistant. Items eliminated include 2.5 proposed new assistant principal positions and an increased payout for retirees' unused sick leave. Still undecided is the additional psychologist, counselor and increase in student activity support, which is why the board still does not know if it has cut $194,000 or $109,000 from the $225,000 it must eliminate.
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