School employees get three percent pay hike

By JIM TALBERT\Staff
TAZEWELL – School system employees will get their step increase plus three percent more in their July paychecks.
At a June 30 meeting the school board voted 5-0 to approve that amount after a last minute round of cuts to the budget. The board entered the budget year needing $3.5 million to give the much talked about increase of five percent plus the step.
The June 29 meeting of the board of supervisors produced $1,099,000 in additional money. That amount was produced by allowing the system to retain $458,000 it had ended the last fiscal year with and to move $241,000 from utilities to personnel.
The other $400,000 was an additional appropriation from the county. The system will get an additional $800,000 from the state in December when the three percent hike approved by the legislature takes effect.
During its early morning June 30 meeting the school board discussed several scenarios before settling on the step increase plus the three percent to take effect in July instead of December.
To get the additional money needed they cut three teaching positions and two clerical positions. They also placed the lease purchase of new buses on hold and decided to go a different direction with the learning academy.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brenda Lawson said vacancies at Abbs Valley Elementary, Cedar Bluff Elementary and Richlands High School created by retirements would not be filled. Clerical spots at the Career and Technical Center and Richlands Middle School will not be filled either.
Board Member Steve Davis expressed concern about cutting a spot at Cedar Bluff Elementary. He said the enrollment will go back up there next year and there will be a need for an additional fifth grade teacher.
Lawson assured him staffing is looked at on a year to year basis. She told the board the learning academy, which housed students suspended for 10 or more days so they could keep up with their work had not proven satisfactory.
She said the two teachers working there would be moved to other vacancies in the county and central office staff and principals would develop another alternative program. Director of Finance Jammie Lester asked to board to work with her and look at the budget regularly to determine when and if new buses could be purchased.
The entire board agreed that the county’s fleet would not suffer by delaying the purchase of new buses. Board Chairman Mike Dennis said the school board would be forming a budget committee in the near future.
He said that committee would work with the board of supervisor’s budget committee in order to avoid going down to the wire on next year’s budget.