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

DATE: THURSDAY, February 25, 1993                   TAG: 9302250222
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

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POLL INDICATES MANY WANT MORE FUNDS FOR SCHOOLS

Montgomery County Supervisor Jim Moore's annual local-issues poll indicates many residents of his district think the county should invest more money in education.

Of the 199 responses, 131 said the county spends too little on education, 66 said educational spending is "about right," while two respondents said the county spends too much.

Slightly more than half of the responses, 104, were from voters in his district, which covers part of Blacksburg and northern Montgomery County.

Montgomery County's 1989-90 per-pupil expenditure of $1,948 was about average for Virginia localities, Moore said.

"Education is an investment in the future, even though it's considered an expense of the present," he said.

With the upcoming year's school budget undergoing scrutiny and debate, Moore said the survey results "hint" that citizens favor more funding for education, either by reallocations within the county budget or by higher taxes.

"My question to county citizens is: Do you want a quality educational system? If the answer is `yes,' then you've got to be willing to put some money down," he said.

Moore said other survey results indicate citizens are satisfied with county services, including law enforcement and well-water testing.

Respondents also advocated setting a debt ceiling policy for county spending, and favored abolishing Virginia's Dillon Rule, which limits local government's regulatory flexibility.

Moore distributed the questionnaires among community groups and individuals over the past six weeks. He said the survey is intended to be more informative than scientific.

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