Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991 TAG: 9104180612
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Gov. Doug Wilder, during a speaking engagement in Martinsville Tuesday night, says "it's chilling" that a group of Southwest Virginia school superintendents are considering a lawsuit against the state in an attempt to end disparities in public-education opportunities.
Virtually everyone, including Wilder, agrees that disparities among school districts exist. Almost everyone agrees that more money for education will have to come from somewhere if the gaps are to be closed.
But, hey, says Wilder. Don't blame him. He appointed a commission to study the problem. It came up with recommendations that will cost money. And when asked where that money will come from, Wilder says, "That's what the General Assembly is here for."
Come again? Isn't this the same General Assembly he has effectively straitjacketed with threats to veto any tax increase it might pass? Under that threat, the legislature took not a glance at tax proposals introduced in January - including one by Botetourt Sen. Dudley Emick - intended specifically to begin dealing with school disparities.
Wilder, as always, remains mysterious. Maybe his words in Martinsville signal that he'll be more willing to work with the legislature to resolve the disparities. In observing that "people are saying we're not moving fast enough [but] I've only been in office 15 months," Wilder may even have signaled that he'll call for a tax increase when he offers his budget next January. It'll be the first budget he will design from scratch to carry out whatever priorities he has set.
Yet, in the national fields, the governor continues to fertilize his budding presidential campaign with ultra-fiscal-conservative rhetoric. He's positioning himself as a Democratic alternative to President Bush who won't back off from a no-tax-increase pledge. It's hard to imagine him reversing position so soon.
The governor's comments on the disparity issue come as rural school superintendents prepare to meet in Roanoke Friday to vote whether to proceed with the lawsuit. His appointment of the study commission last year was widely viewed as an effort to stall their consideration of a legal challenge. Skeptics might wonder if his hints of eventually finding money were intended to get them to hold off again.
Wilder is right when he says the disparity problem "didn't come up overnight." But his administration has done nothing of substance yet to solve it. If the governor has a solution in mind, he ought to come out and tell the superintendents and the state what it is. This lip-reading's getting tiresome.
by CNB