Commentary: School Board Apologizes

This past school year has been a challenging one for all employees of the Roanoke City Public School system (“RCPS”).  On top of the incredible strain placed on our employees by the requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation, they also had to endure funding, closure, and employment issues.

To finish the year, they have now had to learn through a newspaper article about personnel recommendations and associated salary adjustments approved by the School Board on May 21.  The School Board’s failure to anticipate and appreciate the negative perception that would accompany such an approval is a tremendous oversight.  For a Board that has prided itself on its open and honest communication with the school system and this community, the Board’s failure to adequately and more publicly communicate and explain its May 21 vote is an error in judgment.  For these shortcomings, we apologize.

Throughout the year, the division has implemented a wide range of cost-cutting measures.  At the board’s regular meeting in April, as part of this money-saving effort, the Superintendent recommended – and the Board approved – elimination of 15 administrative positions.

The work performed by the individuals whose positions were eliminated has been reassigned to other administrative employees, who have been asked to expand their work efforts for the Division.  Accordingly, at the School Board’s May 21 meeting, the Superintendent recommended – and the Board approved – a slate of promotions and reclassifications for ten administrative employees that will permit essential work to continue.  Among other things, this permits the Division to avoid overtime pay for employees who formerly were hourly employees but have now been reclassified as salaried employees.  It is anticipated that those employees who are no longer eligible for overtime pay will earn less as salaried employees than they earned as hourly employees.

Ultimately, RCPS will be paying the promoted and reclassified administrative employees an additional $92,000 next year.  In return, RCPS is saving over $940,000 in administrative personnel costs.

We recognize that this next school year, we are asking everyone – especially our teachers – to do more with less.  For that reason and many more, all of the above should have been discussed publicly with our employees and with the community before we made any decision.  As a matter of strict Board policy, personnel matters are always handled privately.  However, should a similar personnel situation arise in the future, we will handle it differently.

It is our fervent hope that the Board’s shortcomings on this issue will not detract from the monumental progress that has been made over the past 18 months, including:

Adding instructional time to the school day;

Optimizing school start and stop times;

Completing construction of two state-of-the-art high schools;

Completing construction of two new athletic stadiums;

Closing four schools to adapt to our current population;

Ending lease obligations by relocating Noel Taylor Learning Academy;

Founding and opening Forest Park Academy;

Creating and implementing rigorous academic and behavioral expectations for student athletes;

Revising the school funding formula with the City of Roanoke;

Establishing honors programs at all middle schools;

Securing an agreement with Valley Metro that allows all middle and high school students with RCPS identification to ride Valley Metro buses free of charge;

Establishing the Roanoke Community College Access Program that guarantees qualified Patrick Henry and William Fleming graduates two years of free college education at Virginia Western Community College;

Privatizing our transportation department;

Realigning our City’s 38 year old attendance zones; and

Adopting and implementing a school equity policy for our district.

Moving forward, we are extremely excited about this school division and in the direction it is heading.  All of the progress mentioned above has come about in partnership with the City, the community, teachers, parents, and students.  We are seeing increasing levels of excellence in the classrooms, on the athletic fields, and in all of our extracurricular activities.  We recognize that none of this would be occurring without the 110% effort being given by all RCPS employees.  We very much appreciate them and ask you to join us in congratulating them for an incredible year.

From the Roanoke City  School Board

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