Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991 TAG: 9102150584
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: FINCASTLE LENGTH: Medium
A state-funding reduction of $459,732 from the Botetourt school budget, McClure said, "there is little or no hope for salary increases."
In the face of tightened financing, McClure said the board is attempting to come up with a budget for next year that won't cut into academic programs or jobs. But, he said, it may be necessary to eliminate seven teaching positions on the middle- and high-school levels.
But McClure said all budget projections at this stage are preliminary and the whole picture could change. The budget preparation hinges on the amount of revenue the county will get from the state, and that has not been determined.
Botetourt's school budget for the current fiscal year is about $17 million. The new budget probably will be at about the same level.
On another matter, the Breckinridge Elementary PTA presented the School Board with two resolutions.
One of the resolutions opposes a proposal to put a middle school into the James River High School complex.
Richard King of the Breckinridge PTA presented the resolution and asked the School Board to what degree concerns about maintaining two high-school athletic programs influenced the middle school study.
Guy Alphin, School Board chairman, said the athletic program has never been mentioned in any of the board's deliberations on the middle-school concept.
After the meeting, King disputed the contention that athletics is no consideration. Whether stated or not, the desire to keep two competing high-school athletic programs is a major factor in the middle-school debate, King said.
An idea popular with many parents would be to create a combined high school and two middle schools in the county, said Cody Lowe, president of the Eagle Rock Elementary PTA. Several possible scenarios for such a structure have been discussed in the past.
King said a combined high school could have a bigger athletic program than either of the two smaller high schools has now. It could offer a wider variety of sports and probably compete on a higher athletic level.
Aside from athletics, King said a single high school would keep the younger sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade middle-school students separated from older high school students.
That possible mixing of younger and older pupils is one of the main complaints against the James River Middle School proposal.
Enrollment at James River High is decreasing, King said. The school has about 450 pupils in a building designed for several hundred more than that, he added.
The school administration is currently compiling enrollment data and figuring the costs of converting the James River facility to include a middle school. No report is expected on that until spring or summer.
In its second resolution, the Breckinridge PTA urged the School Board to keep guidance programs in the elementary schools whether or not they are required by the state.
The State Department of Education now requires guidance programs in elementary schools, but it is considering withdrawing that mandate.
McClure told the board that targeted budget reductions and proposed local revenue increases should leave enough money to continue funding the elementary guidance and music programs, provided there are no additional cuts in state funding.
by CNB