tion will occur again. “We have got to find

tion will occur again. “We have got to find some way to keep teachers, and give them some incentive for staying besides in monetary ways,” Baines said. “I don’t want to go to a merit pay system, but teachers who have been here for awhile and have done good things for the schools have got to be recognized and paid for it, too.”

She said that nothing is ever done to welcome teachers at the beginning of the school year, and that there is no recognition for teachers, like an outstanding teacher award, from the school board or any other group in the county. “The standardized test scores show what the teachers are doing, and teachers should be recognized and applauded for that,” Baines said. “I’m not saying that teachers automatically deserve it, it has to be earned.”

She said that another problem teachers face is a lack of adequate housing in the county. That forces teachers to find places to live outside of Rappahannock. “I think one of the reasons I’ve stayed in the county is that I think you have to live around the kids you teach to be an effective teacher,” Baines said. “If you live where you teach, you can see your students in church and other places besides in school.” upsetting feature of this year’s budget time for Baines was the way people focused on the school budget as the cause of higher taxes. “I don’t have any figures, but Rappahannock residents have to realize that some of their tax money is being lost to land use,” Baines said. “I feel like the schools have been used as a scapegoat just because the school budget is the largest in the county.”

She said that something has to be done to make up for the tax money not being collected due to land use taxation, and that she will continue to work to find ways to better the schools. “I go through a stage of wanting to work,