THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512160150
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Vanee Vines
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Here's a look at some of the action taken at Thursday's School Board meeting:
Two speak at hearing
Two speakers at Thursday's public hearing on the 1996-97 budget both urged the board to offer district workers more money and some additional fringe benefits.
Lovey Lyons, president of the Education Association of Suffolk, asked the board to consider a pay raise of 5 percent, on average, for city teachers and workers who make up the district's support staff; as well as full coverage of certain health insurance premiums.
A representative from the district's School Bus Drivers Association said that group sought, at the very least, a pay raise reflecting the cost-of-living increase. The drivers also are calling for telephones to be installed on all school buses.
The next public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Feb. 8 in City Council chambers. The board will send its proposed 1996-97 budget to the City Council by April 1 for approval.
School gets a name
The elementary school now under construction in Harbour View has a name: Northern Shores Elementary. The board voted in favor of the name on Thursday. Clarice C. Johnson and William L. Whitley voted against the name, which was the first choice of a special committee the board charged with picking one. Both Johnson and Whitley said they preferred the Harbour View name, which the committee considered. That name didn't make the final cut, however.
The school, planned for students who now attend Florence Bowser Elementary, will have technology, art and music labs. Telephone lines and television monitors will link every classroom to the library. The school also will be air-conditioned. It will open next fall.
Committee appointments
The board nominated four city activists for a blue-ribbon committee that will study enrollment growth and the condition of schools in the district - and then offer City Council and board members advice on school construction, renovation work and other brick-and-mortar issues.
The four are: Rosalind Cutchins, Debbie Hobbs, Vivian Saunders and Karla West.
The committee - the brainchild of the City Council - will submit annual reports to the council and School Board. The idea is to give citizens greater input as the board develops capital-improvement plans, which are turned over to the council for funding.
The council already has appointed six people to the committee: Ross Boone, Charles Christian, G.P. Jackson, Clinton Jenkins, Talmadge Jones and Patrick Phipps - residents who have remained active in local schools or other civic affairs.
The council will appoint the 11th - and final - group member next week, when it gives the nod to the board's selections.
The group will begin meeting in January. Its first annual report will be distributed next September.
Earlier this school year, the board approved an ambitious $105.7 million capital-improvement plan, calling for six new schools and renovation work over the next decade. Compared with last school year, enrollment is now up nearly 5 percent - one of the biggest jumps ever.
So far, the council has earmarked capital-improvement money only for Northern Shores Elementary and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning projects scheduled for 1996. by CNB