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percent in capital outlay. There would be a 35 percent decrease from last year’s budget in the operation and maintenance of school plant category, and a 4 percent decrease in debt service.
Estabrook also recommended changes in fringe benefits for school sytem employees. He recommended that bus drivers receive eight sick days a year that can accumulate to fit) days, and that one day of that a year be allowed for a personal day. Teachers, would receive duty-free lunches, transfers of accumulated sick days from other school systems, and one teacher with at least five years’ experience would be able to take a sabbatical leave each year and would receive full pay for a half year sabbatical or half pay for a full year.
Administrators would receive transfer of accumulated sick days, a membership in one professional organization, three weeks vacation for those with three years of experience and four weeks vacation for those with 10 years experience. Estabrook also recommended increasing the amount that the system would pay of the employees’ insurance premium from three percent to four percent.
Don Bomberger, a teacher, disagreed with the way the teacher salary increase percentage had been determined. He said that the 13 percent figure was misleading since the- salaries were really only increasing by 11 percent to the base or starting teacher’s salary.
When asked why he did not find it necessary to provide salaries to teachers in the county equal to the average of surrounding counties, Estabrook replied that the teacher request would have meant an 18 percent instead of 11 percent increase to the base. “We can’t make those kinds of strides that quickly,” Estabrook said.
“I don't expect to have everyone agree with my judgments, but I also don’t expect to have someone try to sit in my chair with me," Estabrook said. “There’s only room for one.” Estabrook said that the proposed budget was not his, but was for the public's schools. “I would be happy if the public would rise up and insist on a 30 percent increase in salaries for teachers, but 1 don’t think that that will happen,” Estabrook said.
Susan Bloss, president of the Rappahannock Education Association, said that the salary proposal would keep teachers in the status quo, and she asked about other requests made by the teachers like 180 days of sick leave being allowed to accumulate. Estabrook said th^t anything he did not mention was not recommended.
“Mr. Estabrook’s responsibility is to present the budget proposal, and the Board’s responsibility is to act on it,” School Board Chairman Beverly Massie said. “It is just a starting point, and the Board will go over all of the education association’s requests as well as any other requests during our budget discussions.”
Lynne Baines, a teacher and parent, raised a concern over the perception of the 54 percent overall increase figure that is largely due to the capital outlay project. Estabrook said that there was no other way to figure the budget except to include to the capital outlay as a dollar amount.
Baines also said that she wondered about the difference between a 17 percent salary increase for the assistant principal at the high school and the 18 percent increase that the teachers had asked for. Estabrook replied that the difference was the numbers since there is one assistant principal’s salary as compared to all of the teachers’ salaries that would have to be increased.
Barney O’Meara said that he found it commendable that the proposed budget was an attempt to move towards a salary scale for all employees. “It both(Continued
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