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School Budget
The budget proposal that Superintendent David Gangel put before the School Board last week certainly presents a variety of challenges.
It is not likely that a budget calling for more than an 11 cent increase in the real estate tax rate can survive in the current political climate with local elections on tap for the fall.
Citizens need to have their say on which of the initiatives in the budget get funding.
As is always the case most of the budget goes into salaries.
Included in the full budget will be funds for a 5 percent raise to the teachers' salary' scale. Also included are salary scales for administrators.
At the request of parents the budget includes funds for school assemblies, a coordinator of volunteers and three aides to ride the buses.
Three positions would become full time that are not now part time, the aide in the high school library, the art teacher and the school psychologist.
Three additional positions are included: a school nurse to serve both schools, another high school teacher to pick up increased enrollment in Spanish and eighth grade science, and a computer coordinator-grant writer.
Dr. Gangel noted that the grant writer could pay for the position in grants received and also that there is a current grant proposal that would cover this salary.
Many of the additional expenditures are required. Except for the new salary scales for administrators, one has to corpe fairly far down the list of priorities before hitting proposals that are not commitments already made, such as increasing the percentage of health insurance covered.
The only big ticket item that is really open for debate will be the increase to the teachers’ salary scale. For beginning teachers, the scale this year at $22,611 is better than Culpeper, Page, Fauquier and Warren counties and behind Madison. Several of those counties are further along on their school budget process than Rappahannock. They seem headed for significant increases in teachers’ salaries.
1 he salary at the top of the scale with 29 or more years of experience at $34,752 is lower than Culpeper, Fauquier and Warren counties and better than Madison and Page.
Each 1 percent increase in the teacher’s salary scale adds about $29,000 to the cost of education.
Dr. Gangel and the School Board need to know what the patrons of the schools want. The budget will be formally presented March 7. The public will have an official opportunity to respond at the regular meeting March 14. Of course anyone can contact their School Board representative and ask questions or express an opinion at any time.
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