Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 18 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
Continued from page 1 cation means a better livelihood. Show the children that you think their education is important," Mrs. LaCava requested.
Tom Junk questioned the correlation between quality education and teachers’ salaries but agreed that Rappahannock “certainly needs to pay teachers better.”
The correlation between salaries and quality education is somewhat academic, maintained Lee Bird. “Last year, 37 percent of our teachers left. That’s an erosion no school system can suffer and maintain quality.” He asked that teachers be offered a competitive salary — “not equal with but competitive with the surrounding counties. ”
School Board Chairman Beverly Massie noted that the county’s $1,548,689 share of the proposed budget won’t even cover total salaries paid teachers, administrators and classified personnel. “It costs us more each year and we’re still not competitive . . . The rural atmosphere is often not quite enough to attract teachers, especially young teachers.”
And salaries must also be more competitive if the county is to retain the experienced veterans who give the educational program stability, she added.
“Fiscal times are hard, but fiscal times are going to be harder for the next several years,” Mrs. Massie predicted. She acknowledged that the supervisors must deal with dog pound and landfill problems. “But you cannot put education at the bottom of the list every year.”
In answer to a question from Supervisor Charles Estes, the superintendent explained that $48,400 under instructional funds goes to pay the tuition for two special education students in residential programs. He noted that the county had appealed both placements but lost both times.
“It really hurts our entire educational program when the court decrees that $48,400 must be spent for two children,” Mrs. Massie interjected. She also noted that the proposed budget carries $5,000 for physical therapy and $2,000 for speech therapy provided to special education students. “It enhances their ability to learn but these are physical problems, not educational problems,” she maintained.
Examining audit reports on activity fund accounts, Supervisor Estes was asked what happens to book rental fees charged by the schools.
The rental fees are deposited in the activity fund accounts at both
87.6%