NEWARK – The importance of competitive teacher salaries, small class sizes and funding for technology highlighted a public budget input session hosted by the Worcester County Board of Education this week.
On Tuesday representatives of the various school improvement advisory committees from throughout the county shared their budget requests with school system officials. Requests for pay increases for teachers, funding for technology and maintaining small class sizes came up again and again.
“You have a difficult job ahead of you but I’m confident you’ll do what’s best for the schools and the children,” said Megan Muller, a parent from Showell Elementary School’s committee.
The school system hosts a public budget input session each December as officials prepare to begin developing the budget for the coming fiscal year. This year, the school system is working under a $103 million budget funded primarily by Worcester County. Vince Tolbert, the school system’s chief financial officer, pointed out that the bulk of the budget was spent on salaries and fixed charges.
“Eighty-five percent of our budget is spent in people,” he said. “We’re a people organization. That’s where our resources are going.”
He said a step increase in the coming year would cost more than $1 million, while a 1 percent cost of living increase would cost $625,621. Insurance costs are expected to increase at least 5 percent, or $745,970.
Nevertheless parents who spoke Tuesday said they wanted to see teachers receive a raise. They said they wanted the school system to continue to attract and retain highly qualified instructors.
“Our committee feels the most important element of our school and the entire county wide school system is our people,” said Chris Palmer, a member of Buckingham Elementary School’s committee. “Studies have shown that the most important factor affecting student learning and achievement is the teacher.”
Palmer also stressed the importance of small class sizes, an issue he said Buckingham was struggling with as enrollment continued to increase.
Parents also advocated for additional technology funding. The whiteboards at several schools are approaching 10 years old and don’t always function as they should.
Speakers said they also wanted to see the one-to-one initiative, the effort to provide every student with a mobile device, spread throughout all grade levels.
“The Internet is a global classroom and our children need to be able to access it,” one parent said.
Other budget requests included funding for after school programs and additional security cameras at Pocomoke and Snow Hill middle schools. There were also a few requests to restore specific positions that had been cut in recent years.
Officials thanked attendees for their comments. School board member Doug Dryden said officials were aware of the importance of Worcester County’s teachers.
“It’s the people that make a difference,” he said. “They make connections with these students every day.”
Bill Gordy, president of the school board, said the board would be working with the county commissioners to come up with a budget that would meet the county’s needs.
“You can rest assure we will be working closely with the Worcester County Commissioners as we move forward in the budget process to ensure that whatever we put forward, our final product, is feasible and has a good chance of making it through the system,” Gordy said. “We found out the hard way there’s no need of going in there with a product that they’re upset with to begin with.”
