Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 29, 1991 TAG: 9103290516
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
Of 15 people who asked to address the board at its annual budget hearing, 11 wanted to talk about education. They urged the supervisors to fund a 2.5 percent pay increase for school employees, along with architectural and engineering work on a new middle school in Forest.
And those who did not ask to talk still made their opinions clear. Each endorsement of the county School Board's funding request was greeted with a lasting round of applause.
Faced with a 1991-92 proposed county budget that would spend $2 million more than it would bring in, the Board of Supervisors has indicated in recent work sessions its inclination to cut the school system's budget, among other things.
"These are proposed reductions, and I emphasize `proposed,' " supervisor Chairman A.A. "Gus" Saarnijoki told the audience before the hearing. "They may be more and they may be less after we finish."
The board has proposed cutting $713,900 from the School Board's request of $36.6 million. Saarnijoki said that equals the cost of a 2.5 percent pay raise for school employees, which was part of the School Board's request.
A pay raise for school employees but not for other county employees or constitutional officers would not be "consistent with the stand being taken," Saarnijoki said.
"And yes, we are risking the loss of some teachers," he added. But, he said he believed a pay freeze next year would be "without major loss or damage to the educational program or the situation with the county itself."
In other sections of the county's proposed $55.7 million spending plan, supervisors have considered cutting $932,000 from non-education areas, Saarnijoki said.
Most of that would be from projects that will not go away, he said. Some $730,000 is delayed spending on such items as a new landfill, reassessment costs, work on the health department and animal shelter, and creation of an enhanced 911 system.
But those in Thursday night's crowd were not interested in talking about those items. They wanted to talk education.
Several residents questioned the county's commitment to education.
Education spending as a percentage of the county budget has decreased in the past decade, and the schools were asking for just a 5 percent increase over current spending, they said.
"What are your priorities for Bedford County?" Linda Markham of Goode asked. "Education has long been a valued tradition in Virginia. . . . Are you changing this tradition?"
Helen Dooley of Forest urged the board to give teachers a raise. Dooley said she knew that some surrounding school systems will not be giving raises next year, but she said that could allow Bedford's teacher salaries to come closer to those in Lynchburg and Roanoke.
Leyburn Mosby agreed. "Teachers are probably the most underpaid professionals in society today," he said.
A few people, concerned about increased tax bills next year, were less approving of the across-the-board raise plan.
"I wondered why they'd put it out in blaze orange," Verle Johnston said, holding up a copy of the colorfully bound School Board budget request. "They don't want to get shot at, that's why."
Interestingly, Johnston was the only speaker to request time to address a proposed real estate tax rate increase. In fact, most of the crowd, which included the school superintendent and at least four School Board members, left before the tax issue was opened up for comment.
The supervisors advertised a rate increase of 6 cents, which would bring the rate to 68 cents per $100 assessed value. Supervisors can lower that rate, but they cannot raise it any higher this year.
Every penny added to the rate would bring in $161,000 in revenue to bridge the $2 million deficit.
Supervisors will choose a tax rate and make any spending cuts when they adopt the 1991-92 budget a week from Monday.
by CNB