THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 9, 1996 TAG: 9601090261
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Dare County teachers deserve an across-the-board pay raise, the chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners said Monday.
Robert V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr. said he will ask the county's governing board to consider the raise in the next budget cycle.
Owens said that Dare County is losing its ability to attract the best teachers because of the county's noncompetitive supplement to the salary provided by the state.
Dare schools rank among the best in the state academically, Owens said, but its supplement pay ranks 46th among North Carolina's 100 school districts.
``For some reason we have dropped the ball on this,'' Owens said. ``I think Dare County can afford this, and I think Dare County taxpayers would support it as long as it was made clear that this was for the teachers.''
Owens said the amount of the supplement increase would be up to the full board of commissioners. However, he will push for a $1,000-a-year increase for each teacher over the current supplement.
``We're trying to recruit teachers, and they're laughing at us,'' said Owens. ``This board is committed to education, and it has to carry over to teachers as well.''
The Dare County Board of Education has discussed a merit pay system for its teachers for more than a year. Owens said the raise could be part of a merit system.
Teachers' salaries, established by the State Department of Public Instruction, range from $20,620 to $37,310 per year based on academic degrees and experience. The average salary over the state is $29,153. Teacher supplements, set by each school district, begin at $562 annually in Dare County.
While base salaries are the same statewide, county supplements often make the difference in the recruitment of teachers. The proposed increase could be discussed as early as this spring as part of the budget process.
Mike Finnegan, president of the local chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators, was delighted with Owens' proposal.
``I'm glad to see someone taking the initiative,'' said Finnegan, a teacher at Cape Hatteras School. ``This is something we've worked on for a year and a half.''
In other business, the commission unanimously approved a resolution endorsing the idea of a regional training center for firefighters. The resolution gives the local firefighters' association authorization to seek federal funding for the facility, which supporters say would benefit the entire state.
Kill Devil Hills Fire Chief Doug Penland, president of the Dare County Firefighters Association, said the proposed facility would be funded mostly through the Federal Aviation Administration. Part of the training would involve preparing for airplane crashes.
The center would provide training facilities for firefighters, and provide meeting space for community groups as well.
Penland said a similar facility in Wilmington cost about $4.3 million. Under the FAA grant, 90 percent of funding for the project would come from the federal government, 5 percent from state government, and the remainder from local sources. However, a 16-acre site for the facility near the airport would probably meet the county's contribution, Penland said.
Firefighters from throughout the county were on hand to show support for the proposed project.
In other action:
Commissioners Owens and Joseph ``Mac'' Midgett expressed concern over a string of burglaries in the Duck and Salvo areas, and the lack of police protection in those unincorporated areas.
``County deputies should be patrolling in those areas, and leave the municipalities alone,'' Owens said. ``We have plenty of police officers in Dare County, and those people in Duck and on Hatteras and on Roanoke Island and the mainland should be protected.''
Commissioner Shirley Hassell raised questions concerning the $12,000 public relations budget, and an expenditure of just over $3,000 for a county newsletter. Hassell said only one newsletter had been published in the past year. County Manager Terry Wheeler said he would look into the matter. by CNB