ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
With little fanfare or opposition, the Botetourt County School Board passed a 1996-97 school budget $3.6 million larger than last year's.
A public hearing on the budget drew a slew of band boosters, tickled with the $30,000 increase in band funding, and few detractors. One man questioned why the budget included more than $80,000 for school psychologists, though there hasn't been one on staff for five years.
The bulk of the increase is the result of salary and benefit increases for teachers and the start-up of the county's middle school program, which begins next year.
"This budget was a struggle," School Board Chairman Jim Ruhland said. "It was hard to take some of these costs as a taxpayer; but as a School Board, we had to take them."
The largest single increase came in employees' salaries: $1.2 million. More than $800,000 is to boost teachers' salaries. In an effort to bring Botetourt salaries on par with neighboring school divisions, the budget also removes three steps in the salary scale, thereby increasing the size of the raises that teachers will get over three years.
The pay increases were met with thanks from Lois Switzer of the Botetourt Education Association, who called them "a major step" in making Botetourt County schools competitive.
School Board member Webster Booze balked at the size of the increases and was the dissenter in the 4-1 vote in favor of the budget.
The other large increase in the budget is $1 million, mainly in personnel and benefit costs, for the start-up of the middle school program. Next year, Read Mountain Middle School will open in Cloverdale, and Botetourt Intermediate will become William Clark Middle School.
David Emeigh, who ran unsuccessfully for the School Board last fall, noted that funds left over from a line item for school psychologists had been routinely transferred to increase administrators' salaries.
Assistant Superintendent Rod Dillman responded that funds were left because part-time psychologists were used, and there was nothing illegal about the transfer of funds.
"It just makes me wonder whether there aren't other areas where we could do some trimming," Emeigh said. "It looks bad to the public when funds are shifted around and people's salaries are increased."
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