Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 7, 1993 TAG: 9307070328
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
The state should promise parents that college tuition will rise no more than the inflation rate while their children are in Virginia schools, George Allen, the Republican candidate for governor, said Tuesday.
Much of the talk was about education as Allen spoke and fielded questions before a breakfast gathering in Blacksburg, the hometown of the state's largest university, Virginia Tech.
Bob Denton, head of Tech's communications department and a political commentator, said he was disappointed that Allen did not take into account the state budget cuts that higher education has suffered in recent years when proposing to put a cap on tuition increases.
But generally, Allen's remarks went over well in the partisan crowd of roughly 80 people.
Rather than build a new state college to meet an expected jump in college enrollment of approximately 65,000 students before the turn of the century, Allen said he favors adding moderately to the space at existing schools and putting more emphasis on the community college system because that would be cheaper.
Allen said, however, that he doesn't want state colleges getting too big and that Virginia Tech, with 24,000 students, "is large enough as it is."
In response to a member of the audience who complained that college teachers spend too much time publishing worthless research papers instead of teaching, Allen said he thinks the public expects professors to teach more courses, which would eliminate the need for hiring some new faculty members.
Allen, 41, a former 7th District congressman, launched his "George Allen Listens Tour" in Blacksburg. His Democratic opponent in this fall's election is former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry.
Arriving at Custom Catering for the buffet breakfast about 15 minutes late because of a detour through the Tech campus, Allen spent several minutes table-hopping before he spoke.
He plans to visit 20 cities and towns in Southwest Virginia during the week, and will move on to the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads next week.
The tour, which Allen is making in a small motor home with his name on the side, is reminiscent of the statewide station-wagon tour by Gov. Douglas Wilder during his run for lieutenant governor eight years ago.
It hard to hear the voices of the people when you're isolated behind the "granite walls" of Richmond, Allen said in explaining the reasons for his tour. "We're running a people-oriented campaign, and we'll also be a people-oriented administration."
Allen, in answer to another question, said he was "highly skeptical" about a state Department of Education move toward "outcome-based education."
Rather than testing on a given amount of course material determined by the teacher, outcome-based education measures a student's educational progress by evaluating what a student can produce. In an outcome-based system a student might be asked to prepare a portfolio, do a demonstration or complete a project.
But Allen said the untried concept "should be slowed down and stopped here in Virginia." It should first be determined if it works through a pilot program in some school division that wants to try it before it's made the rule statewide, he said.
Allen said the answer to the state's educational problems is "getting back to basics" in mathematics and reading instruction. The average Virginia student reads less than 10 pages a day, he said.
He added that school divisions in the state have too much administrative overhead. Parents and the community need to play a larger role in education and bureaucrats in Richmond less, he said.
Oscar Williams, president of the Montgomery County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, asked Allen what could be done to open up the political system to minorities.
"The Democratic Party has taken blacks for granted and the Republican Party has tended to write them off and not take them at all," Williams said.
The Republican Party needs to reach out, Allen responded, and government needs to make sure that every citizen has the opportunity to succeed.
"The other party believes in guaranteeing results; I believe in equal opportunity," he said.
To help boost the economy, Allen called for a minimal amount of governmental regulation and for a tax structure that encourages rather than discourages economic investment. He said he opposes raising the state's income and sales taxes.
Allen said Southwest Virginia has a number of attributes that make it attractive for economic development: Interstates 81 and 77, cheap land, good water, a great work ethic, and local governments that favor growth.
Asked how he would deal with the closing of military bases in the state, Allen said, "There's no easy answer."
As one solution, Allen said something should be done to ensure that the double-hulled oil tankers required by new environmental laws are built at the Hampton Roads ports.
He also suggested the Tidewater ports should operate as a free-trade zone where no import duties are collected, similar to the port at Hong Kong.
One woman in the audience told Allen that he and Terry are saying the same things in their bids to get elected this fall. How, she wanted to know, was he different from Terry.
Campaigning Democrats will say anything to get elected, Allen said. He went on to criticize Terry for not doing anything to curb crime as attorney general.
Allen followed his Blacksburg breakfast with a walking tour of Pearisburg. After a visit to communities in the coalfields and far Southwest, he goes to Wytheville, Marion, Pulaski, Hillsville, Clifton Forge and Covington on Thursday.
He winds up the week's tour on Friday in Lexington and Buena Vista.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB