Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410290019
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Countywide, voters will decide whether to float a $19.7 million bond issue, and in the Fincastle District, whether to return incumbent Ben Griffith to the Board of Supervisors. We recommend "yes" votes in both cases.
The bond proposal reflects a sensible effort to allay stresses residential growth have placed on a rural county, and to enhance Botetourt's attractiveness to the commerce and industry needed to keep real-estate tax rates low.
For as houses go up and young families move in, one thing is certain: Taxes will go up if the cost of added services, especially education, falls solely on the residential tax base.
If the referendum passes, most - $13.6 million - of the bonds will finance construction of a middle school in Cloverdale in the county's fast-growing south, as well as conversion of the intermediate school in Fincastle to a middle school that will serve students from northern Botetourt.
If it fails, supervisors have suggested the other $6.1 million in projects would proceed, albeit at a slower pace. Most of these are related to development of industrial parks, with sewer and water lines, and a new landfill. But they also include a new library and park, plus sewer and water service for areas with failing septic systems.
What might be lost are the middle schools. Two incumbents say a "no" vote would suggest a veto of such an expenditure. They probably would respond to overcrowding by building another elementary school. Three supervisors say they'd favor proceeding with the middle schools using alternative financing.
But one of those three is Griffith, a retired assistant superintendent of schools facing re-election in a north county district whose residents are feeling underserved. A lot of opposition to the bond referendum has been expressed there, even though the money to create two middle schools would be well-spent for all county schoolchildren.
Middle schools are recognized as the best educational organization, developmentally speaking, for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. In Botetourt, they'd also get sixth-graders out of the elementary schools, which are at or nearing capacity.
Botetourt officials can't promise that the bond sale won't result in a tax increase, but they don't think it will - if improvements attract tax-paying businesses as expected. At least as likely, taxes might rise if voters refuse to face needs now, and are forced later to take costlier measures. A static rural county doesn't need bond financing; a rapidly suburbanizing county does.
Griffith's opponent in the Fincastle District is Republican Bonnie Mayo, a part-time office worker who opposes the bond issue. She's an appealing candidate in some ways, particularly in her recognition of the need for better county planning - not just to facilitate development but to guide it, to preserve some of what's best about Botetourt.
Mayo, however, seems mostly to be riding resentment against the surging demand for services in the south. And her alternative school proposal - to convert the two high schools to middle schools and build a new consolidated high school - sounds expensive, and lacks advantages that would justify the delay.
In supporting the bond issue, Griffith is showing a rare virtue: political courage. He is sticking with a position not noticeably popular in his district, but one he is convinced will be best for the entire county - as well as for, in the long run, his district.
Keywords:
POLITICS ENDORSEMENT
by CNB