ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 14, 1996 TAG: 9612160038
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BRIEFLY PUT
*IN HIS proposed 1996-97 school budget, Roanoke Superintendent Wayne Harris recommends teacher-pay increases averaging 4.1 percent. That, says the Roanoke Education Association, breaks faith with an earlier understanding that the raises for next year would average about 6 percent.
Wrong. The understanding was to get teacher pay up to the national average by 1998-1999. Earlier, it was thought this would require a 6 percent increase this year. But the national average has not risen as much as anticipated, so the lower figure will keep pace with the goal.
The national average as a local goal has been a useful tool in a commendable effort to make local salaries more competitive. But it isn't magic. And, as the superintendent's budget proposal reminds, it's a moving target.
*MENORAHS IN windows around Newtown, Pa., are a heartening sign of the season's spirit - including the Christmas spirit. On the third night of Hanukkah, someone vandalized the home of a Jewish family, children of Holocaust victims, smashing to the ground and breaking a menorah that had been shining from inside the front window. Within a few days, 25 Christian families' homes in the neighborhood had menorahs glowing from their windows, a marshaling of light against the forces of darkness...
LENGTH: Short : 32 linesby CNB