schools and used to buy new text books, repair

schools and used to buy new text books, repair used books and “keep down — as best we can — the rent we charge parents," said Mr. Estabrook.

With some $41,000 collected at RCES and $72,000 at the high school in activity money, “that’s a $120,000 to $130,000 slush fund, as I read it,” charged Supervisor Estes.

The principals at both schools manage the text book accounts, with signatures of either the assistant principals or the bookkeeper required on all checks drawn from those accounts, the superintendent said. In addition, the School Board gets a monthly report on funds disbursed from all activity fund accounts, he added. He explained that the text book rental system is selfsupporting; the $18,000 included for text book purchase in this year’s budget came from those rental fees.

Checking the same activity fund audit, Sharon Kilpatrick pointed out that the athletic department spent more than it took in in 1984-85, despite complaints relayed to Supervisor Estes that parents and team members must raise money for necessary athletic equipment. “Maybe the equipment is not as well cared for as it should be so we're having to replace things more often, but money is being spent. It’s not sitting around earning interest in a savings account."

Calling the teacher turnover argument for higher salaries a “red herring,” Robert Eastham maintained that, most teachers who leave Rappahannock do so for reasons other than dissatisfaction with the pay scale here. Still, he advocated an increase in the school budget, the money to be added as necessary to transportation services to improve the bus fleet.

“Twenty-five percent or better of all our school buses have more than 100,000 miles or are over 10 years old ... We have good maintenance but there is a limit.” He related an incident this year in which a driver with three children on the bus lost her brakes as she was driving down a slight incline on the Resettlement Road near Flint Hill. “But by the grace of God, there was no traffic,” Mr. Eastham said, adding that the bus plowed a foot and a half into a bank. “You can’t guarantee maintenance when you let the buses run that long.”

Of the county’s 23 school buses, nine will be 10 years or older this year and 11 buses will have more than 100,000 miles as of June 1, confirmed Transportation Superintendent Tom Campbell. The buses are inspected regularly and reports filed, as required by state regulations, he said.

“A lot of mileage doesn’t necessarily make a bus unsafe,” Mr. Campbell said. “It does, however, mean higher maintenance costs . . .