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2 <br /> Ms. Atkins said that has been discussed and has not been ruled out, but she said <br />developmental needs of a three-year old are different than that of a four-year old. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said it seems as though teacher salaries are the only ones that have <br />been brought up to a decent level in the region, but others such as fire and police have <br />not. He asked at what point do we say we are paying teacher so much that we have to <br />increase expectations. He said he is not sure performance measurements are in place to <br />justify these increases. <br /> <br /> Dr. Edwards said he thinks that after this year we will see a significant increase in <br />student performance. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said that for a $4 million increase not many new programs are <br />proposed. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said he thinks we can attract great teachers and feels we need to be <br />competitive in the region and cannot afford to fall behind. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Taliaferro, Ms. Atkins said specific <br />measurements have to be put in place and the schools have to develop a culture of <br />expectation. She said benchmarking will be done against what the State is requiring. <br /> <br /> Ms. Peggy Van Yahres, School Board member, said measurements have to be <br />developed on a regional or statewide basis. <br /> <br /> Ms. Leah Puryear, School Board member, said that the largest cost in the School <br />budget is personnel, and there are benefit increases as well. She said that the refugee <br />population is also driving increased expenses. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris said he disagrees with the contention that we are overpaying teachers, <br />especially given the cost of living in Charlottesville. He said he would prefer to look at <br />how we can bring police and fire personnel’s salaries up. <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro said it is important to have adequate salaries, but he hopes the <br />Schools are working on performance issues. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris asked why front line teachers are being eliminated rather than <br />administrators as a result of the decline in student population, and why are teachers being <br />taken away from schools that are not performing well. <br /> <br /> Mr. Gillaspie said that a formula of 20 to 1 is used in schools less impacted by <br />poverty, and 17 to 1 in schools more impacted by poverty. He said the same, smaller <br />ratio is being applied to the schools where teachers are proposed to be reduced. He said <br />administrative roles are based on the number of people in the system while the number of <br />teachers are based on the number of students. <br /> <br /> Ms. Van Yahres said she thinks the administrative positions will strengthen the <br />whole system. <br /> <br /> Ms. Julie Gronlund, School Board member, said that the number of administrators <br />is greater in Charlottesville because it is a small division. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown asked if the large ESL population at Johnson impacts the performance, <br />and Ms. Atkins said it has an impact, but she said she does not want to identify one group <br />as having the most impact. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said that creating a center for ESL students was discussed, and he <br />asked if the School would fund part of the center in their budget if the City also provided <br />funds. <br /> <br /> Ms. Atkins said there is an ESL center at Charlottesville High School which is <br />proposed to be expanded next year. <br /> <br />