Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 5, 1993 TAG: 9309030076
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
"I'm not sitting over here frowning at Radford," he said.
He's not even jealous.
"I feel it's a mighty fine system," said Asbury, whose own system, at 5,250 students, is almost four times as large.
That's not to suggest the county can afford to lose students to Radford, but Asbury said he doesn't know just how many Pulaski County students have decided to take Radford up on its bargain-basement tuition fees - $100 a year and $75 for additional students in the same household.
The city won't tell him.
"For whatever reason, they think that's confidential," he said.
The city took in more than 150 out-of-towners last school year and could top that this fall. Every one costs the home county about $2,500 in lost state aid each year.
If just 50 students cross the river to Radford, about $125,000 in state aid goes with them.
"It's not a spilt-milk thing," Asbury said.
He also said he doesn't believe Radford is going behind the county's back to reap its tuition-student bonanza, which has helped keep the city's schools out of financial hot water more than once.
While Asbury applauds Radford's success, he said he sees his mission as different from the city's, mainly because the two school divisions serve different populations.
"Obviously, demographics have a great deal to do with the outcomes," Asbury said.
Asbury says he sees the city of Radford as more literate, its students more oriented toward a college education.
As a university community, its children start school already motivated and with a head start on basic skills.
Asbury's side of the stream is different: unemployment is much higher and more households fall below the poverty line.
"Fifty-three percent of our adult population does not have a high school diploma," he explained, offering up the statistic more as a challenge than an excuse.
"We have to prepare kids for the world of work," Asbury said, noting that about 40 percent of Pulaski County High School graduates do not go on to college.
He points with pride to the county's sizable vocational-education programs.
He said he doesn't think Radford pays as much attention to the city's blue-collar segment.
"We feel we have quality programs," he said. Because of its size, Pulaski County also can offer a greater variety of courses.
Asbury said he's not sure Radford's low faculty turnover rate is necessarily a plus.
"If I had my preference, I'd like to see 10 percent turnover," he said. "You want to have a little influx of younger people coming in."
Asbury is optimistic about his own system's future. He said Pulaski County students have been doing better on the Literacy Passport test. From 1992 to this year, scores jumped from 56.9 percent to 65.9 percent passing all three sections of the test.
They've also succeeded in knocking down the dropout rate: 7.6 percent last year and "maybe 6 percent" this year. It had been "way up there," Asbury said.
Even so, with less money coming from Richmond each year (Pulaski County's state aid dropped by more than $400,000 this year), Asbury would be happy to see the exodus to Radford reversed.
by CNB