Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510300038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
David Sulzen says Virginia should spend more on public schools, but he doesn't support an increase in state taxes to do it.
Instead, the state should rearrange its priorities and shift funding from prison construction and other programs to education, he said.
"Enough revenue is provided to the state government, but Governor [George] Allen and the General Assembly choose to spend the funds on more short-sighted programs," said Sulzen, a candidate for the Floyd County School Board.
A majority of school board candidates in Western Virginia who responded to a survey by The Roanoke Times agree with Sulzen.
They said more funds are needed for public schools and that the state's spending priorities should be changed.
But some candidates said they would support an increase in state taxes to provide more money for education.
Stanley Butler, a candidate in Bedford County, does not believe the General Assembly adequately funds public schools.
"As a school advocate/activist, I probably will never believe there is enough money for schools, just as an environmentalist would probably think there was not enough money for his cause," Butler said.
"However, we need to investigate where the money is going and how it is being allocated," he said.
Beth Nelson, a candidate in Pulaski County, said the state's school-funding formula is flawed and does not provide adequate or equitable funding for school divisions.
She said Virginia rates low in education funding compared with other states. The state ranks 30th in per-pupil spending: $5,664.
Yet, Nelson would support a tax increase only as a last resort. She said she believes the state should revamp its spending priorities.
James Klagge, a candidate in Montgomery County, said he would like to see a larger portion of the state budget be allocated to education.
Surveys show that the vast majority of voters would rather put money into education than into more prisons.
If the state has to raise taxes to provide more funds for schools, Klagge says he hopes taxpayers see it as a "wise investment, rather than as a burden."
He said quality public education assures the long-term economic and political health of a state and helps to reduce the prison population.
Perry Hambrick, a candidate in Franklin County, said he would support a tax increase because he believes education is a must.
"It is more than logic that dictates a good offense is better than a poor defense in educating our kids," Hambrick said.
"Give them something to take to the world when they graduate into a working field instead of them having to take a menial job and play catch-up the rest of their lives."
Virginia voters are willing to spend more on public schools, according to a recent Virginia Commonwealth University poll.
Voters ranked education first in their spending priorities, ahead of prisons, a priority of the Allen administration.
Asked if the state should spend more on building prisons or public schools, 86 percent of voters said schools and 10 percent chose prisons. Voters chose schools over transportation by 79 percent to 17 percent.
They selected public schools over colleges and universities by 85 percent to 10 percent.
The poll posed a series of trade-offs on spending, but it did not ask voters if they would support a tax increase.
Oscar Williams, a candidate in Montgomery County, says he believes education is underfunded in Virginia and widespread funding disparities exist among localities.
Given the rapid advances in educational technologies, Montgomery County could easily use a 35 percent to 40 percent increase in state funds to ensure that schools keep pace with educational changes, he said.
But Williams said he would support an increase in state taxes for education only if there were no other way to obtain funds. He prefers that the General Assembly give higher priority to education.
Next Sunday: where school board candidates stand on local taxes.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB