DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997             TAG: 9703120002

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Opinion 

SOURCE: BY TIM JACKSON 

                                            LENGTH:   81 lines

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH ABOUT BEACH SCHOOLS

Revenue-sharing disagreements aside, the cold hard truth is: The city of Virginia Beach is underfunding its schools.

On Feb. 25, several hundred parents and school-system supporters attended the Beach City Council meeting to deliver a strong message: Education deserves to be funded at a level commensurate with the city's ability to pay and the established educational needs of its students.

It was concern over the impending adoption of a revenue-sharing formula that brought many well-intentioned citizens to their governing body. They were aware that the school system had gone on record objecting to the funding level stipulated in the city's proposed revenue-sharing formula, which in fact had been developed around an arbitrary formula rather than student educational needs. The citizens were unhappy about the sad truth - that even though the schools' budget called for more money than the city proposed, it still represented a shoestring spending plan.

So they took their concerns to City Council. And how did this esteemed body respond? Quite frankly, it was with rhetoric so filled with subterfuge and half-truths that these good people went away confused and discouraged. City Council members were patronizing and misleading when they told those attending that the School Board had voted 10-1 to support the resolution council wanted to adopt that night. So in essence, council implied, what was the problem?

The truth is: The School Board did vote to support a resolution that will set in motion many of the financial features of a revenue-sharing policy. My colleagues believed, in principle, that a workable revenue-sharing policy would benefit schools, the city and its constituents; but we did not agree with the city on the percentage of its budget to go to schools.

More truth to correct the council's misleading statements:

On Feb. 11, while the superintendent and many School Board members were in Richmond seeking additional dollars, City Council adopted the ``money'' portion of that revenue-sharing policy, at a level that will result in what can only be called a tragedy - underfunding of our schools.

While council members were leading our good citizens to believe this policy had the School Board's blessing, they had in their hands a letter from our chairman, Robert F. Hagans Jr., that had made our position crystal clear. And I quote: ``These two resolutions - the one on funding level and the other on additional financial features - cannot be considered separate and apart from each other. They must be brought into alignment for the School Board to lend its support to the adoption of a revenue-sharing policy.'' Citizens, please understand that the School Board has never voted to support the resolution passed by council at this meeting.

I am writing this now for a simple reason. While the complexities of a funding formula can be exasperating, there is one resounding point that should surface above all the conflicting dialogue: Virginia Beach schools are underfunded.

And here is the evidence:

Of 133 school districts, Virginia Beach ranks 71st in per-pupil expenditures.

Neighboring Chesapeake spends $238 more per child for education. We would need $17.9 million more just to match that level.

Virginia Beach has the second largest school system in the state. Only Fairfax County is larger. How do we rank in per-pupil spending compared to Fairfax? Fairfax spends $6,910 per child. Virginia Beach spends $4,868 per child. Fairfax is ranked 11th, and we are ranked over 70th.

The state average per pupil is $5,610. The state average is $742 more per student than Virginia Beach. This underfunding has gone on for some years. It has to stop. City Council has not given education the priority it deserves. Members have adopted a funding formula that is woefully inadequate to meet this school system's needs and have smugly reminded us that we can always lobby council to ask for a tax increase. This is part of council's not-so-subtle plan to make the schools the villain so the city will be free to fund other fiscal priorities placed at higher priority than public schools.

I have confidence in Virginia Beach citizens. I believe they will see through that ruse. I believe they will rise up and tell City Council the cold, hard truth. Good schools are the heartbeat of a good community. Put your money where your heart is, Virginia Beach.

There's not enough space to correct all of the misleading statements made by some council members, so I would like to leave the citizens with this final thought: How brighter the future would be for us all if our schools were adequately funded. MEMO: Tim Jackson is a member of the Virginia Beach School Board from

Kempsville Borough. The views expressed here are his own.

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