ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997 TAG: 9703120084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON
Salem teachers, whose pay is the seventh highest in Virginia, could get a 3.5 percent raise.
Salem school Superintendent Wayne Tripp recommended to the city's School Board on Tuesday a 3.5 percent pay increase for teachers and a 5 percent increase for school bus drivers in 1997-98.
They would cost the school division a total of about $600,000.
Tripp said he expects to propose a final budget to the board next week. The board will vote on it during its March 25 meeting.
The bigger increase for bus drivers is needed to make the job more attractive to a small labor pool, Tripp said.
The 3.5 percent raise for teachers is comparable to other raises in the last five years, which have ranged from 3 percent to last year's 5 percent.
In 1995-96, Salem ranked seventh among Virginia school divisions in teaching salaries, averaging $37,719.
At present, Tripp is recommending an across-the-board raise for all teaching experience levels. However, he may suggest raises in accordance with experience before the full budget is proposed, he told the board.
The proposed budget will add funding for one teaching position, a second technology specialist and a third registered nurse, he said.
Because of a joint nursing program with Virginia Western Community College, Salem schools will eliminate one practical nursing teacher, Tripp said.
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