
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 21, 1990                   TAG: 9003212449
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES OFFER SCHOOL FUND IDEAS

City administration and school officials need to work together to find another $449,560 for high-priority items not currently in the budget, the three Democratic candidates for Roanoke City Council said Tuesday.

William White, James Harvey and Howard Musser say funding should be added to include full-time principals at all city elementary schools, to pay for the first phase of full-time kindergarten and to add remedial teachers.

White, a member of the School Board, said he hoped the city administration and the school administration could compromise and come up with the figure between them - through added revenues from the city and "adjustments" in the current school budget.

"Possibly the schools can meet them halfway," said White, who served as a spokesman for the candidates. "I don't want to use the word `cut.' "

But he said there are ways schools can find some extra money. For example, he said, money has been saved already by phasing out two top administrative positions that had been vacant.

Also, White said, the city administration and the schools may be able to save money in the long run by combining their computer maintenance staffs and their fringe benefit plans.

White and the other two Democrats put out a position paper Tuesday on the funding issue.

Included in their $449,560 proposal is $54,400 to add a principal's position so that Fishburn Park and Wasena elementary schools, which share a principal, can each have one.

The $449,560 is about one-fifth of the additional $2.1 million in funding that school officials have asked from the city.

Superintendent Frank Tota said the budget had been developed during a rigorous review process. "I'm not sure that there's money to be found elsewhere" in that budget, he said. "But it's heartening to hear that there's support for some of the priorities."

Earlier this month, Councilman David Bowers said Roanoke's real estate tax rate would have to be raised by 11 cents - from $1.25 to $1.36 per $100 assessed value - to provide all of the local tax money needed to pay for the extra $2.1 million.

Musser is an incumbent council member and Harvey is a former council member. Also running for the council are Republican Roland "Spanky" Macher and two independents, current Councilman James Trout and the Rev. Cecil McClanahan.

by CNB