Dean Irvine interjected that “nothing of any consequence had

Dean Irvine interjected that “nothing of any consequence had been offered” by the administration as a solution to the poor reading performances by Rappahannock students. Other schools cover a year’s work in a summer program, he maintained. “Why can’t we do that here?” Irvine asked. “The process for gain in subject matter is not the same as the process for gain in skills development,” Hogan replied. “Skill development takes time,” agreed Bloomer. “You cannot cram a skill. You can cram knowledge.” Dot Irvine asked how much six weeks progress would help students in the coming year and was told that children who completed summer school would be individually placed in reading programs next year on the basis of that attainment.

Transportation Factor Bloomer noted that transportation would also be a limiting factor in the number of students who would take advantage of the summer program. Currently, he said, proposals call for six buses to run routes to centralized pick-up points. Allen Stokes asked what effect the summer school would have on the school budget.

Bloomer explained that surplus funds existed in the current budget to cover the estimated $30,000 cost of the summer program. However, since regulations don’t allow for the use of money from the current budget to pay for anything after June 30th, availability of funds depended on the Supervisors’ approval of next year’s budget, he noted.

Bloomer explained that there was $25,000 left from unexpended teacher salaries and $10,000 left from unexpended bus driver salaries in this year’s budget. If certain items in next year's budget — purchase of roofing materials for the high school, purchase of a tractor and mower and vehicle upgrade — could be paid for with that $35,000, it would free funds out of next year's budget to cover the July portion of the summer reading program.

"If a decision is made to go that route,” Bloomer