Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 22, 1994 TAG: 9402220236
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
The School Board began its budget workshops Monday night.
In his introduction to the proposed budget, Superintendent Bill Asbury noted that Pulaski County far exceeds the minimum state requirements for local education funding.
``Our county has reached deep into its pockets to help fund the educational program,'' he said. ``Conversely, we have seen state revenue dwindle as the percentages spent on education become larger for our county and smaller for the state.''
Pulaski County's situation goes to the heart of the educational disparities situation, now being debated in the General Assembly and placed before the courts system. A coalition of mainly rural counties, including Pulaski, has sued the state over the issue of funding disparities between poor and rich localities in Virginia.
``Unlike our wealthier counterparts, our county must depend largely upon real estate and property taxes to fund the education budget. Over time, the increase in local funding takes an undue burden upon the homeowners and farmers while also discouraging new business and industries,'' Asbury said.
He hopes for an increase at the state level to ``help make up the deficit in state spending which has been occurring for the past several years. The percent of state funds spent for education has actually declined throughout the state while localities have been increasing their spending just to maintain the same levels of funding from year to year.''
Meanwhile, Asbury said, operations costs are going up because of inflation, expensive new technology, aging buildings that need repair and higher utility and insurance rates. ``We have spent a great deal of time and effort during the past three years building a strategic plan to help keep our school division focused and get the best possible use of the limited resources we have,'' he said.
A Futures Task Force already has identified major areas on which schools must concentrate for their graduates to succeed in the next century. A Future School Building Needs Task Force is getting closer to making its recommendations on facilities to house instructional programs of the next century.
by CNB