New Virginia budget could boost pay hike for Scott teachers

GATE CITY – Scott County Schools officials anticipate a new General Assembly budget with an increased teacher pay hike will get support from the county Board of Supervisors. Schools Superintendent Jason Smith told school board members Tuesday that the new state budget – approved June 30 – now includes a state match for a 4% pay hike for contract employees and staff, instead of the 2% pay raise in earlier versions of the state plan. The school board voted 5-0 to approve an amended budget of $75.984 million to send to the Board of Supervisors – a $2.391 million increase. The new budget includes $260,895 in local support for the 4% pay increase - $130,448 over the 2% raise level – as part of an overall $364,777 local share increase. If the Board of Supervisors approves its share of the salary increase, the state contributes $1.39 million for the raise, Smith said. Teachers and contract employees would see the raise this year, he added. Smith said he believed the schools budget increase will get majority support from the supervisors. "I appreciate the majority of the Board of Supervisors for stepping up and giving that to us," School Board Chair David Templeton said of the supervisors budget vote July 1. "They saw we gave them some stuff to help them what we could. They've got a hard job and I appreciated the majority that voted." Templeton referred to an agreement between county and school system staffs to share accounting, purchasing and trash pickup services for approximately $200,000 in savings to the county. "I do want to thank the majority of the Board of Supervisors," school board member Steve Sallee said during board comments on its approval of the school budget July 1 and anticipated support of the new budget. "I know it wasn't easy." School board member Patricia Edwards also thanked "the majority" of the supervisors. "We appreciate the full funding very much," Edwards said. Smith said Wednesday that the state increase also will include additional matching funding for math and reading instructional specialists and technology grants. County Administrator Josh Wilson said Wednesday that his staff is still assessing the impact of the state budget passage on the county budget. State Compensation Board increases of 3.5% are expected for the sheriff's office, commonwealth's attorney, treasurer and commissioner of revenue budgets, he said, but those increases are funded by the state. The current county budget was approved a day after the state budget was finalized, but county officials said it had to be passed to comply with state requirements for budgets to be in place by July 1. Waiting to pass a revised budget would have triggered requirements for public hearings that would have delayed passage later in July. Wilson said the supervisors have not decided whether to call a special meeting in July to revise the budget or wait until the board's regular Aug. 5 meeting. "We're going to try our best to find the mechanism to fund the increase," Supervisor Chair Chris Maness said Wednesday of the school budget increase. "It's important our schools remain competitive." Maness said the school system has remained competitive with other school systems statewide when it comes to students' performance on the state Standards of Learning tests. "If we can invest in our kids by investing in our teachers, that's a good thing," Maness added. The school board will postpone its August meeting to Aug. 6, 6:30 p.m. at Yuma Elementary School so the board and public can see the school's completed expansion project.