THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 1997 TAG: 9702050464
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 68 lines
Well, it didn't hurt to ask.
School Board members met with the City Council on Tuesday to discuss leaky roofs, exposed wires, 75-year-old neglected school buildings and the $144 million needed to repair them.
Council quickly told them funding their list would be impossible, just as school board members had anticipated.
``We understand that you expect us to stretch, so stretch us. . . ,'' said Mayor Paul Fraim.
``But I think you need figures you can live with instead of things you'd like to have. We can't deal with a $144 million (capital improvement plan) budget.''
School Board members expected the ``no'' but wanted to take advantage of the rare informal meeting between the two groups.
Tuesday's four-hour powwow was a first in recent memory.
The meeting was one of several the council is holding with the various appointed boards in the city. The meeting wasn't to make financial commitments but merely to open lines of communication.
Talk of school vs. city needs created contentious moments, but board members appreciated the chance to be heard.
``We need to do more of what we're doing today instead of working in isolation,'' said board member Joseph T. Waldo.
Council wanted to hear about certain building needs already on the table:
renovation work with Granby High School's gym;
renovations at Bay View Elementary;
new construction or renovation of Taylor Elementary.
But School Board members presented them with a bigger picture of the district's troubles.
School officials used a three-minute video to show water leaks around light fixtures that present a safety hazard, classrooms too small to meet state guidelines and buildings too old to handle the electrical demands of computers.
The video also stressed ``curb appeal,'' or how new and improved buildings can make the city more appealing to families and businesses.
But the city had its own list.
The library system wants at least 1 percent of the city's budget for expansion, and the city zoo needs money. The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority has its wish list, too, in addition to public works projects, recreation and public safety needs.
School officials used pie charts to show that in 1987, 48.6 percent of the school district's general fund came from the city, but that figure dropped to 38.8 percent in 1997.
The city said it hasn't weakened in its commitment to the schools. Fraim distributed a report by the Virginia Municipal League and looked at the city's contributions to help the district meet the state's Standards of Quality, the requirements schools must meet to be accredited as public schools.
The league document said that in the 1993-94 fiscal year, the city was required to provide only about $30 million but spent $87 million, 191 percent above what was required.
``I think it's a fairly telling statistic of what a city can spend and what it's willing to spend,'' Fraim said.
Even though the $144 million list was too ambitious, council members did say they would try to fund an additional $11 million needed to complete Granby's gym, as well as the work on Bay View and Taylor over the next two or three years.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SCHOOL BOARD NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL