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By JANE BANGLEY
Rappahannock Ncwa Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 15 was not a regular school day at Rappahannock County High School. On that day, 255 students left their classes and participated in a walkout to demonstrate their disapproval of the board of supervisors’ decision to cut $120,000 from the proposed 1985-86 school budget.
The students left their classes a little after 9 a.m. and congregated on the baseball field. Some had signs with “Save Our Teachers” and “Students For Quality Education” written on them, and all were attentive as Jon and Jim McCullough spoke about the reasons for the walkout.
“Our complaint is aimed at the supervisors, not the school board,” Jim McCullough said, although the students were not entirely satisfied with the teachers’ salary package proposed by the school board. “The school board did some, but it was a drop in the bucket,” McCullough said. “The bucket will have to be filled by the supervisors.”
The school board had proposed an 11 percent increase to the bottom line for teachers’ salaries in addition to the system paying each employee’s five percent state retirement benefit. The night before the walkout, the school board had deleted the retirement benefit payment and had cut the proposed budget in other areas to meet the supervisors’ $120,000 cut request. The board had also proposed a 12 percent increase to the bottom line salary figure for teachers.
“The board still cut that amount from the budget,” McCullough said. “As long as that $120,000 is cut, we are going to protest.” Robert Chappell, high school principal, had asked ^e students to return to class after 45 imputes. Jim McCullough said that none pf the students went back inside at that time because they did not think that enough had been accomplished. About 70 students did return to class a few' hours later after a teacher spoke to the group and said that a longer walkout could hurt rather than help teachers. The remaining students stayed out of class for the entire day.
Jon McCullough said that the students were trying to call the governor and the State Board of Education to demand that they become involved in urging the supervisors to replace the
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