Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 12, 1994 TAG: 9407140069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Before retiring last month, school Superintendent Bayes Wilson told the Board of Supervisors that it would cost almost $3 million to raise the salaries of teachers and other school employees to the national average.
But Kohinke said Wilson's memorandum gave only half the picture because it did not compare the cost of living in Roanoke County with other areas.
``In my mind, it is meaningless to compare ourselves with say, New York state, where both salaries and cost of living are very high,'' he said.
If the county is going to set the national average as its goal for teachers' salaries, Kohinke said, it should determine how the cost of living compares with similar areas.
He has asked Superintendent Deanna Gordon for comparative statistics on living costs.
"Perhaps you could provide the other half," Kohinke said in a memorandum to the superintendent.
Gordon said Monday she has begun gathering the information. But she said there might be as much difference in the cost of living within Virginia as in metropolitan areas outside the state. Northern Virginia's costs are comparable to many metropolitan areas in other states, she said.
"We will try to look at comparable metropolitan areas [both inside and outside Virginia], if we can find the data," she said.
Kohinke said he would like the county to establish a "reasonable target" for teachers' salaries.
The average salary for county school employees is nearly $1,900 below the national average of $35,980. The figures include salaries of teachers, principals, instructional supervisors and nonprofessional workers such as secretaries and receptionists.
Supervisor Bob Johnson, who originally asked for the report on the cost of raising salaries to the national average, said the School Board should not forget the financial plight of teachers as it renovates buildings and builds new schools.
Several years ago, Roanoke County had the highest teachers' salaries in the Roanoke Valley and Western Virginia, Johnson said, but that is no longer true.
Salem's teachers' salaries are the highest in the valley. Roanoke County ranks second in the Roanoke Valley in some categories, but third in others.
The county's school salaries are nearly $1,000 a year higher than the state average, which includes rural areas with lower pay.
"I'm trying to get our teachers back to where they were three or four years ago," said Johnson, noting that the county froze teachers' salaries one year because of a financial crunch.
He said the county needs to keep its salaries competitive so it can attract and retain the best teachers.
by CNB