Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 1, 1991 TAG: 9102010545
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By GREG EDWARDS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Approximately 100 people turned out for the hearing at Christiansburg High School and more than a dozen spoke. Board Chairman Marty Childress of Shawsville said the crowd was the largest he's seen in four years on the board.
The School Board presented the public with a $8.95 million budget, which is $427,698 less than the current year's spending plan and $2.32 million less than what Superintendent Harold Dodge said the system really needs.
Even so, the budget will require $198,169 more in local money because a loss of $1.26 million in state educational funds couldn't be entirely made up through drastic budget cuts. Last year's county appropriation to the schools was a little over $18 million.
The board will consider the remarks made at the hearing and take a final vote on the budget at a meeting Tuesday night before sending it to the Board of Supervisors.
Daniel Schneck, a board member from Christiansburg, said none of the nine people on the board likes the budget, but said he doesn't believe the board will add anything to it as a result of the hearing. Schneck said the supervisors would not accept a budget that would need a significant tax increase. Childress said another problem is that citizens who oppose higher school budgets generally go straight to the supervisors and bypass the School Board.
"If a $38 million budget is not what is needed, it is your responsibility to fight for more," Sandy Webster, president of the Blacksburg High School Parent, Teacher, Student Association, told the board.
Tom Sherman, a member of Webster's PTSA board, also urged the School Board to ask the Board of Supervisors for the money the schools need. "It's rare anymore to see someone take a stand and provide true leadership," said Sherman, a commentator on educational issues for public radio.
During the hearing, several speakers stressed that good teachers are the most important part of the school system. Grady Pennington, past president of the Margaret Beeks Elementary School PTA in Blacksburg, said good teachers, not untried programs, are the reason children learn.
Chuck Nelson, a parent at Christiansburg Elementary School, said parents want the teaching jobs preserved that are being cut from the budget through retirements and other attrition.
"We want to help the board take this budget in front of the Board of Supervisors and with our political clout say this is what we want," Nelson said.
The new budget freezes raises for all school employees except cafeteria workers, who would get a 2 percent increase. A big concern of teachers, however, is that they're losing the raise they would normally get for advancing another year on the salary scale, said Jennie Reilly, president of the Montgomery County Education Association.
Reilly urged the board to agree to the formation of a communications committee to help improve relations between teachers and the school administration. Several systems in Virginia already have such committees, she said. Some speakers asked that the board not cut vocational-educational teachers and central-office supervisors. The budget slashes the jobs of six administrators in the central office, although those affected could be offered jobs elsewhere in the system.
by CNB