Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

During public comments before Montgomery County School Board's session to discuss and vote on the 2009-10 budget, Blacksburg resident Richard Workman urges the board to consider raising funds by disposing unused property such as the old Blacksburg Middle School.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Montgomery County School Board members will ask the county's supervisors Monday for an additional $376,988 to support a $93.6 million operating budget in the coming year.

The school system's 2009-10 budget request is $3.7 million less than last year's operating budget.

The school board chairman said they wanted to let supervisors know what's important to them, even though some were reluctant to ask for money when there's none to be had. The request asks for $177,828 in increased insurance rates and $199,160 in add-ons.

"This is our budget, and we'll drive ourselves crazy if we're constantly speculating on what the county might do," Wendell Jones said at Tuesday night's board meeting.

The additional $376,988 could boost property taxes by about a half-cent if approved. County officials, however, have indicated they don't plan to raise taxes in this economy.

The seven-member school board spent an hour Tuesday hashing out just what they wanted to keep in their proposed 2009-10 budget. During previous work sessions, the board, facing an $4 million cut in state revenue, eliminated positions, cut contract lengths and dropped programs in an effort to make up the expected shortfall.

Eight parents, teachers and residents pleaded with the board during a public hearing on the proposed budget to do what it can to save jobs and programs. One resident suggesting the current cuts might not be enough.

"This could be just the first of many lean years," Blacksburg resident Richard Workman said.

In the end, the board did decide to maintain most of its original plans, including a freeze on 28 open teaching positions, lower supply budgets and cuts to summer school programs.

But after hearing about lower health insurance premiums -- a 2.5 percent rather than the anticipated 10 percent hike -- Superintendent Tiffany Anderson suggested the board reinstate gifted coordinators and two gifted teachers to part time, athletic trainer supplements and library aides.

"Everything we have in the budget I would say we need, and we would have difficulty going without," Anderson said.

After board member David Dunkenberger moved to amend the budget to include her suggestions, board members unanimously approved the document and also chose to keep four technology resource teachers in 10.5-month contracts rather than 10-month contracts.

The positions were among board members' lists of positions and programs to keep.

Jones called assistant principals, which were cut from to 11-month contracts, "the glue" that holds buildings together and suggested maintaining their 12-month status. He said that schools would need those principals if other county budget cuts mean eliminating school resource officers.

Conversely, board member Joe Ivers, who with other board members pushed to cut supplies budgets further rather than people's pay, said you can take "an administrator out of the building for a month and probably never miss them."

That amendment failed 4-3.

Dunkenberger, who voted against the amendment, said he would not ask the county for more money.

Board member Penny Franklin, who pushed to keep custodians full time and maintain professional development money for social justice training, concurred.

"I don't want to have to put our supervisors in the position ... to have to think about any more pressure on the taxpayer than what is already out there," she said. "They have the worst job. We have a hard one, but they have a worse one."

The supervisors are expected to take up the school budget at 7 p.m. Monday.