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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994                   TAG: 9402160343
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By MARA LEE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

CHIEF OF NEW BLACKSBURG SCHOOL TO SPEAK ON REDISTRICTING TONIGHT

Ray Van Dyke, who will lead the new Blacksburg elementary school, will speak at Harding Avenue tonightwed 16 and at Beeks on Thursday night. The meetings will take place at 7 p.m.

When the fifth elementary school in the Blacksburg area is built, 650 students will move, with 435 from Beeks, Prices Fork and Gilbert Linkous going to the new school. The new school will include children who live west of the 460 bypass, including Hethwood, Glade Road, Laurel Ridge and Meadowbrook. The district will also snake up to the county line along Craig Creek road.

The rest of the changes will come from Harding and Beeks trading students, and Harding students moving to Linkous.

Harding Avenue will receive East Roanoke and Clay streets' neighborhoods. Margaret Beeks will change from a compact area to stretch out to the county line, gaining Harding's Catawba area.

The anonymous committee that designed the plan had one teacher and one parent from each elementary school. It set out to fill each school at roughly 15 percent below capacity, to divide lines on logical boundaries and to spread diversity - economic, racial and ability - to each district.

The meetings at Prices Fork and Gilbert Linkous last week drew roughly 30 parents each. They expressed a few concerns about the best resources going to the new school, but generally received the plan well.

The committee will submit any revisions to the School Board at its March meeting. Van Dyke, currently co-principal of Linkous, said he hopes the board approves it immediately, so that parents will know new bus routes and assignments so they can arrange for day care.