Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410250007
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES R. RUHLAND
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The borrowing proposal originated when the School Board asked the supervisors to provide funding for renovating Fincastle's intermediate school and construction of a new middle school in Cloverdale. The supervisors further determined that other major improvements were also needed to serve our county, which has seen a substantial rate of growth over the past few years.
The Board of Supervisors, along with the county administrator, compiled a list of projects essential to better serve the entire county in the foreseeable future. That list was then scrutinized based on impact and alternative funding methods. Following considerable deliberations, the supervisors added to the initial request from the School Board the construction of a new county business park, a branch library, recreation park, sanitary landfill and water-system development. They concluded that the most efficient and economical means of funding these improvements was through a general-obligation bond issue.
The public-education and middle-school projects require $13.6 million of the $19.7 million to be considered by voters. The School Board studied (for some six years) the middle-school concept before partial implementation of it at Botetourt Intermediate School in Fincastle. Expanding school enrollment, especially in the county's southern portion, has produced overcrowding in some elementary schools. The School Board studied numerous alternatives using multitudinous methodologies before voting unanimously to build a new middle school in Cloverdale and renovate the intermediate school in Fincastle.
Botetourt Intermediate School currently serves all of the county's seventh- and eighth-grade students. However, with full implementation of the middle-school concept, all of the county's sixth graders will be removed from elementary schools, thus relieving the overcrowding and allowing for future growth at the remaining levels.
Botetourt Intermediate, opened in 1959 to house first-through-12th grades, has served its students well, but has deteriorated over the years from normal use, and wear and tear. This bond issue, when passed, will fund major renovations of classrooms, restrooms, locker rooms, the cafeteria, a media center, offices and the heating-and-cooling plant. To this list, add a 400-seat forum, a new gymnasium and exterior improvements, and students will have a reconstructed school in Fincastle comparable to any new school.
The modern middle schools, when completed, will accommodate 625 students in Cloverdale and 500 in Fincastle. This construction will alter the entire school-transportation system, and help the student population by decreasing the distance and time many students ride buses.
In the recent past, the Board of Supervisors has attempted to pay for additions and renovations to the county's schools through annual appropriations to the capital-improvements program. Botetourt County's annual population growth has now dictated the need to borrow money to keep abreast. The longer the wait, the more money it will take to fund these needed improvements.
Botetourt County is currently in very good financial condition. The Board of Supervisors has done an excellent job of managing the taxpayers' coffers, and providing quality services to our growing community. The county can now afford to issue general-obligation bonds that, coupled with anticipated revenues, reserves and conservative fiscal management, should allow repayment without a tax increase.
A vote of yes on Nov. 8 by Botetourt voters will enable our citizens to enter the 21st century with new opportunities - new schools, other modern facilities, and reconfigured utility infrastructure. These improvements should entice new businesses to the county, thus increasing the tax base that provides better public services for all.
The Botetourt school system simply must move forward without the middle-school projects. Our children deserve to receive their education in sound, safe, healthy and modern facilities. As a School Board member, I ask for your yes vote on the bond issue.
James R. Ruhland of Troutville is a member of the Botetourt County School Board.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***