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

DATE: MONDAY, February 8, 1993                   TAG: 9302080278
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

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THOMAS' BILL

INSTITUTIONS such as Center in the Square, the Art Museum of Western Virginia and the Science Museum of Western Virginia don't exist simply to draw visitors to downtown Roanoke. They are, at their heart, educational institutions for children and adults - not just in Roanoke but throughout Western Virginia.

But when money gets tight in Richmond, appropriations for these institutions are often the first to be cut. They're viewed as expendable "niceties," even as legislators' pork-barrel projects. Rarely are they treated for what they are: bona fide parts of Virginia's educational system.

Luckily, the valley's current General Assembly delegation has enough clout to generally win some money for Center in the Square, etc. But it shouldn't have to depend on luck and legislative favors.

Del. Vic Thomas has introduced a bill this session that may bring a change for future years. The Roanoke Democrat wants a comprehensive study of educational museums and their like, to determine what their appropriate level of state funding should be. The study would develop criteria for eligibility to receive state funds, and also identify actions the state should take to better encourage and promote the arts.

This makes excellent sense. Funding decisions for these organizations need to be made on a more logical, systematic basis. They should not swing on the horse-trading skills of certain lawmakers, or require valley legislators to expend valuable political capital on what the state should be doing as a matter of routine.

Because the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond is state-owned, it is ensured relatively stable state funding. Where the state has been laggard in establishing such institutions - for example, in the Roanoke Valley - institutions that aren't state-owned fill the vacuum. Perhaps Thomas' bill will lead to legislative understanding that support for such institutions isn't pork barrel but a bargain.

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