Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 9, 1994 TAG: 9408110017
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On a 7-0 vote, the School Board on Monday asked the Board of Supervisors to order a referendum - or authorize bonds through other means - to finance the plan. The resolution also requests that a bond referendum, if approved, be limited only to the school projects "to ensure that [they] are judged by the voters on their own merits."
Supervisors Chairwoman Lois English said Monday that other county projects, specifically ones tied to economic development, have been discussed as candidates for a referendum.
"We haven't decided what we're going to do at this point," she said, ``but the first thing people are going to ask is, `How much is it going to cost?'''
English, who represents the Union Hall District, said she thinks the $6.5 million magnet school is the top priority in the school package. The magnet school would serve eighth- and selected ninth-grade students with "emphasis on exploration, problem solving, critical thinking and academic interface," according to information provided by the school administration.
The plan proposed by the School Board is broken into three phases. Phase I includes the magnet school and $4 million in major capital improvements allocated among Boones Mill, Dudley, Ferrum, Sontag and Glade Hill elementary schools. Phase II includes $3.3 million in improvements divided among Lee M. Waid, Rocky Mount, Callaway and Snow Creek elementary schools. Phase III includes $337,000 for an all-weather track and a school maintenance building.
The estimated completion date for Phase I is September 1996. Phase II would be completed in fall 1997, and Phase III in fall 1998.
Before voting for the resolution passed by the School Board on Monday, Blackwater District Supervisor Shirley Jamison said she thinks the supervisors can fund the projects one or two at a time annually.
"With all the activity out at Smith Mountain Lake, I don't think a tax increase would be needed," she said.
English and Blue Ridge district Supervisor Hubert Quinn, however, are proponents of a bond referendum, and both spoke in favor of it at a July board meeting.
English said Monday that the projects may be a tough sell, though, considering that the board approved a 10-cent real estate tax increase last year. Almost all of the revenue generated by the tax increase went to the school system, she said.
"I don't know if a tax increase will be needed [to finance the school plan], but we can't go with another large one right off," English said.
Supervisor Gus Forry of the Rocky Mount District also expressed doubts about the success of a referendum.
"My question is: What does the board do if a referendum fails? If it fails by a large margin, it's going to put the monkey on our back if we decide to go ahead with some of the projects."
Like English, Forry said he sees the magnet school as the No. 1 priority in the package.
"There are some projects that need to be done right away, and some that can be put off for a while," he said.
The plan itself was discussed by both boards at a joint meeting in early July, but a majority of the seven-member Board of Supervisors stated at a meeting two weeks ago that they would not discuss possible financing until the School Board made its intentions known.
The supervisors will discuss the school projects again Aug. 17. If the board decides to hold a referendum as part of the Nov. 8 election, notice of the action must be posted 60 days in advance, according to state law.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.