
DATE: Friday, February 28, 1997             TAG: 9702280572

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  146 lines

SCHOOL BOARD TELLS TRUMBLE TO ASK FOR $2.7 MILLION MORE THE MONEY WOULD ALLOW ALL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES AN AVERAGE RAISE OF 4%.

The School Board told Superintendent Richard D. Trumble Thursday to change his plans and seek a total of $2.7 million in new money from the City Council for 1997-98.

That's $1 million more than Trumble had proposed asking from the city.

If the city agreed to the request local taxpayers would spend 11 percent more on city schools next year, for a total of $26.9 million.

The additional $2.7 million would allow all district employees an average pay raise of 4 percent - which is the average pay increase the board told the central office to aim for in crafting next school year's operating budget.

Salaries for Portsmouth's senior teachers, those with at least 15 years of experience, are among the state's lowest.

In recent years, the district also has experienced the loss of several seasoned teachers and administrators to neighboring districts with more attractive pay scales.

The board is scheduled to vote on the proposed operating budget in two weeks before sending it to the council for consideration.

``We ought to have the chutzpah to say, `C'mon guys. . . . You guys are getting more money. So how come we can't get our share?' '' board Chairman Byron P. Kloeppel said at Thursday's meeting, referring to recent financial projections that have put the city further into the black.

BUT AS THE ADMINISTRATION began to prepare its proposed operating budget, it really didn't think the district would be able to pull off an average raise of 4 percent while also making any kind of dent in the board's three other priority areas.

Those areas are school maintenance work that's farmed out to private companies, instructional supplies and vocational education - areas that the board wanted to channel much more money to in 1997-98.

Under Trumble's original, $95.8 million spending plan, teachers, guidance counselors, librarians, psychologists and therapists would have seen their salaries rise by an average of 3 percent - effective at the beginning of the contract year.

On average, other district workers would have gotten a 2 percent raise.

The district would have earmarked $1.8 million for the increases in pay and accompanying fringe benefits.

On top of that, Trumble's original proposal also called for $250,000 in ``salary adjustments'' - even more extra pay - for teachers with about 15 or more years in the classroom.

The goal there was to start narrowing the pay gap between Portsmouth's senior teachers and those in surrounding school districts.

On Thursday, several board members said the district needed to bite the bullet and ask the city for the full $2.7 million.

Increasing the request by $1 million to $2.7 million would cover the amount needed to bring the average raise up to 4 percent for everyone, administrators said.

Trumble said he would follow the board's lead. If things don't work out, he said he'd go back to the drawing board.

DURING A PUBLIC HEARING on the budget Thursday, the board also heard from an elementary school office clerk and a parent, both of whom urged the board to support a uniform average pay increase.

Don Campbell, chairman of the Education Committee for the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, spoke out to offer support for Trumble's original plan.

He later said he'd lobby council members and anyone else to support the revised $2.7 million request.

So far, the city has offered few clues of how generous it will be to city schools next fiscal year.

Trumble's proposed operating budget for next school year was $4 million more than the current year's spending plan. With the change Thursday, it would be $5 million more. And, with the change, 55 percent of the extra money, or $2.8 million, would go toward pay raises and accompanying increases in fringe benefits.

The original operating budget the superintendent proposed assumed the district would get a financial boost primarily from two sources:

Richmond. The central office anticipated $1.9 million more in state education aid, for a total of $58.4 million. That's a 3 percent increase over this year's budget.

City Hall. The central office had sought $1.7 million more from the City Council, for a total of $25.9 million. That was a 7 percent increase.

Overall, Trumble's proposed operating budget for next fiscal year was 4 percent larger.

With the board indicating Thursday that it wanted more city money, however, the proposed operating budget would be nearly 6 percent larger.

IF ALL FUNDING NOW COMES through as anticipated, including the $2.7 million from the city; and if the board approves the rest of Trumble's plan as originally presented, the district would use roughly 74 percent of the extra $5 million for:

Pay raises - $2.8 million.

A total of 26 new positions - $720,000. About half of them would be teachers.

Salary adjustments for senior teachers - $250,000. The exact number of teachers who would be affected was not available Thursday.

Those decisions would leave little ``new'' money to significantly shore up the board's other priority areas.

Take the area of vocational education, which parents and others have urged the district to pay more attention to in recent years.

If the board voted to request $2.7 million from the city and accepted the rest of Trumble's plan as originally presented, the district would spend only $88,000 more on vocational education materials and supplies.

The only other major vocational ed improvement would be the addition of three teachers in that area.

Even under Trumble's original plan, salaries and fringe benefits made up 83 percent of the proposed operating budget.

But late last year, the board told the administration to make a salary increase for all employees the top priority in the 1997-98 operating budget.

In another pay-related move, Trumble's original plan earmarked $136,000 for raises for substitute workers - substitute teachers and bus drivers, for instance.

But the administration recently said that money might instead be used simply to hire more subs next school year.

ELEVEN OF THE 26 NEW positions would be in special education - six teachers plus five special ed paraprofessionals, who typically assist teachers in the classroom.

Nine people would be hired for the Operations and Maintenance department - seven custodians and two master tradesworkers.

Altogether, the administration had planned to increase spending in the operations and maintenance area by $938,000, or 7 percent - for a total of $13.8 million.

Much of the extra money would be linked to this fall's opening of a new I.C. Norcom High School. ILLUSTRATION: THE PROPOSAL

Schools Superintendent Richard D. Trumble originally proposed a

$95.8 million operating budget for next school year - 4 percent

more than the current year's plan. That proposal included a request

for $25.9 million in local funding, an increase from city taxpayers

of $1.7 million - or 7 percent.

On Thursday, the School Board urged Trumble to instead seek a

total of $2.7 million more from the city - so the district could

afford to give all of its employees an average raise of 4 percent.

Following is a look at some of the spending priorities, with the

revised figure for raises. Other items are as originally proposed by

Trumble: