Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408150024
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Some schools will have to squeeze to fit in all of the students they will be getting in the 1994-95 year, which starts Aug. 29. Others are going to have excess space, Superintendent Bill Asbury told the board Thursday night.
Until school has been going on long enough for officials to gauge the changes in numbers at various schools, it would be hard to gauge what changes are needed. But Asbury said the staff would be coming back to the board during the 1994-95 year to suggest boundary changes.
It has been only a few years since Pulaski County redesigned boundary lines for Northwood, Claremont and Critzer elementary schools in the town of Pulaski, following the closing of Jefferson Elementary. That proved a massive undertaking for staff members Phyllis Bishop, Shirley Cook and Harry DeHaven, and was followed by a series of public meetings with parents on the changes.
Generally, Pulaski County is still losing population and its overall student population is expected to drop some more. But parts of the county - mainly bordering on Montgomery County and the city of Radford - have picked up some families and new students are showing up for schools in the eastern part of the county.
Some classes may have to be divided after school starts, and a few more teachers may be hired, Asbury reported.
He said there are parents who dislike the idea of their child being in a class that ends up being split soon after school starts, but the school system is committed to limiting the number of students to 20 per teacher in basic skills classes like reading and mathematics.
That 20-to-one student-teacher ratio may be exceeded in classes other than those dealing with critical skills, he said.
School officials cannot hire teachers based on imaginary numbers, Asbury said. It is necessary to wait long enough to see the actual numbers before deciding to hire more personnel.
In other business, the board discussed a proposed homework telephone hot line for the county's elementary and middle schools, similar to the one at Pulaski County High School.
The Southwest Times, a Pulaski-based newspaper, is planning a call-in service for recorded announcements for churches and civic organizations, and had offered the service for teachers to record announcements of up to 90 minutes each day. The cost would be $7,500.
Since then, school officials have been contacted by another vendor, Teleworks, which would install a call-in system for about $10,000. ``They feel they have corporate sponsors that would pick up about 80 percent of that,'' Asbury said.
Another advantage of the Teleworks system is that it could later be upgraded for two-way communications, while the system provided by the newspaper could not. Future meetings are planned with Teleworks for further details.
Either system would allow parents and students to call a teacher's designated number and hear daily announcements on homework, upcoming tests or what is going on in the class.
The School Board office may also be upgrading its own communications system.
``We're operating with a system that we've really outgrown,'' Asbury said. The board approved further study of a proposal to double the office's existing 22 lines for about $18,640.
The board planned a special morning meeting for Wednesday to consider recommendations for the hiring of new administrative personnel under a staff reorganization.
by CNB