ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 1, 1997 TAG: 9702030045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke teachers wouldn't be content with a delay in a pay raise for next school year that would provide them a larger percentage increase, says Esther Cirasunda, president of the Roanoke Education Association.
"That still wouldn't give us a 6 percent raise," she said. "It wouldn't give us what we feel we should receive."
Earlier this week, some School Board members raised the possibility of postponing the teacher raise until January - when the state will provide its share of the money - because they said that doing so would enable the city to give a bigger increase.
Superintendent Wayne Harris has recommended an average teacher raise of 4.1 percent in his budget for next year. Raises usually take effect when a new school year begins in the fall.
But teachers contend that school officials promised a 6 percent increase as part of a three-year plan to boost salaries to the national average by the 1998-99 school year.
If the raise were delayed until January, board member Harry Davis said, it could be larger than Harris' recommendation.
The teacher-salary scale could be increased by 3.5 percent, instead of the earlier-proposed 3 percent, and the average increase would be 4.6 percent, Harris said.
But Cirasunda said that would still fall short of what the teachers were promised.
Board members and Harris have denied promising a 6 percent raise. They said they pledged only to increase salaries to the national average by 1998-99.
They said a smaller increase next year would keep Roanoke on track to reach the national average because raises for teachers in the rest of the country were smaller than expected this year.
The board asked Harris to provide information on the financial impact for teachers if the raise is delayed until January.
Cirasunda said teachers are upset that board members have raised the possibility that the raise, if it isn't delayed, might be even less than the 4.1 percent, Cirasunda said.
"I'm outraged that they would even suggest that," she said.
Cirasunda said REA's board of directors will consider the salary issue next week and she will have more to say afterwards.
School Board member Brian Wishneff said the board might not have the money to provide a 4.1 percent raise because the proposed school budget still has a deficit of $1.1million.
If City Council cuts the real estate tax rate, as some members have suggested, Wishneff said, it will be even more difficult for the board to give teachers a 4.1 percent average raise.
Each 1-cent reduction in the tax rate would mean the potential loss of $130,000 for the schools, school officials said.
But Cirasunda disagreed with board members' contentions that a cut in the tax rate could make it more difficult to provide a raise for teachers.
She said rising real estate assessments will generate more revenue for the city even if the tax rate is reduced. "The values keep going up each year and that provides more money for the city," she said.
Unless the state and city provide more money for next year, Chairwoman Marsha Ellison said, the board will have to decide whether to reduce the pay raise or make budget cuts.
Harris said the deficit has been reduced from $1.9 million to $1.1 million since he presented the budget to the board last month.
Harris said he remains optimistic that the state and city will provide additional funds before the board has to act on the budget. But Ellison said the board may be hard-pressed to reduce the deficit below $800,000 without cutting items or trimming raises.
The General Assembly is considering proposals for pay raises from 2 percent to 5 percent for teachers in the next year. That could mean an additional $125,000 to $375,000 for Roanoke, Harris said.
But Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations, said the state funds wouldn't be enough to provide the raises because of the state's complex funding formula.
Each 1 percent pay increase for Roanoke teachers costs about $420,000, Kelley said, but the state pays only a portion of it.
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