Roanoke City Public Schools: School Board Recap: January 25, 2022

Press release from Roanoke City Public Schools:

01/26/2022

Chief Financial Officer Kathleen Jackson provided more details about the upcoming 2022-2023 budget, focusing specifically on personnel needs. The current proposed state budget includes provisions for a 5% teacher pay raise. To achieve this, Mrs. Jackson said RCPS could move the entire professional pay scale up 3.5% and provide a step increase. Moving the entire scale up would help RCPS stay competitive with comparable school divisions in Virginia, including locally. Currently, starting pay for teachers with zero years of experience and a bachelor’s degree is $42,420. Compared to six surrounding divisions in the region, RCPS has the third-highest starting pay. Two surrounding divisions have a higher starting pay, as do six other Virginia metro areas, adjusted for cost of living. A second option would be to implement a larger pay scale adjustment. Under this option, starting pay would become $48,000, a 13% increase. The same options can also be considered for the administrative salary scale — either an average 5% raise or a step increase of 2% plus a comparable move of the entire scale. For classified staff, RCPS is looking to move classified pay to a range of $15 to $23.10 per hour. State legislation will increase minimum wage to $15/hour by Jan. 1, 2026. Currently, RCPS’ classified pay range is $11 to $17.05 per hour. A compensation study is ongoing, so implementation may vary based on those recommendations, Mrs. Jackson said. The projected additional costs range from $9.5 million to $18 million depending on the option chosen for professional, administrator, and classified staff scales. Another division priority with budgetary implications is adding new positions to help reduce class sizes , Mrs. Jackson said. Currently, more than half of English, science, and social studies classes at both high schools exceed the state’s recommended class size level. Just under half of all math classes exceed the recommendation. The recommended maximum is 24 students per English class and 25 per math, social studies, and science class. Adding 34 positions across the district would reduce that burden. The exact number of needed positions will vary depending on how class schedules shift for the 2023-2024 School Year and physical space constraints. This would cost an estimated additional $2.7 million. Mrs. Jackson also presented information on adding 20 additional positions for other expanded areas of focus, such as employee recruitment and retention; professional learning; youth development and gang prevention; and preparation for expanded Career and Technical Education programs. This would be an estimated additional $1.5 million. The total projected additional costs range from $15.1 to $23.6 million based on what Mrs. Jackson presented, depending on which options are chosen. Mrs. Jackson previously presented strong revenue projections that would help bolster RCPS’ budget. “I think this is a great place to be focusing our efforts,” said Vice Chair Dr. Jamison. Other Board members agreed, thanking Mrs. Jackson for laying out all potential options. More information will be presented at future School Board meetings. Superintendent’s Reports Superintendent White thanked Executive Staff and other Central Office staff for stepping in to substitute in schools, as well as school-based staff for covering one another’s classes. “We know that we have to do everything we can to protect in-person instruction,” she said. “You saw the need and you just jumped right in.” Mrs. White also thanked families for continuing to follow COVID-19 mitigation measures, including wearing face coverings. Student Representative to the School Board The School Board continued discussions on the draft policy and application packet for the student representative, suggesting minor revisions. This will be finalized at the Board’s retreat on Jan. 28. The draft policy’s second reading and adoption will be on the agenda for the February School Board meeting. The draft policy and draft application packet are available on BoardDocs . click here

This press release was produced by Roanoke City Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.