Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501130104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON GLASS LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The board voted unanimously against the governor's proposal to cut $10.5 million in dropout prevention funds.
``Those programs are of critical importance,'' board Vice President Darrel L. Mason said. ``It seems to me we need to put money into prevention and not focus simply on incarceration. That is misguided.''
Board members also voted to support family life education, opposing Allen's effort to eliminate a state mandate that requires school districts to offer the sex-education program.
Family life education seems to be working, members said. Mason referred to a 1993 study that pointed to reduced rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. The General Assembly voted seven years ago to require schools to offer the program.
``It's not an issue out there with the local schools,'' board member Lewis M. Nelson Jr. said. ``We haven't heard any drumbeat or stampede to do anything with family life.''
The board also rejected Allen's notion of requiring parental permission before students could participate in ``nonacademic'' programs, such as the family life course.
After a lengthy debate about Allen's push for charter schools, the board decided to take no position on the complex issue. Officials said that four charter school bills - and perhaps more - are expected to be introduced during this legislative session, which began Wednesday.
Only board member Michelle Easton, an Allen appointee, voted to support the governor's position on family life education. Many parents are uneasy about the state's mandating instruction on something so personal as sexual activity, she said.
Now, parents who don't want their children to take the course can opt to remove them. Not many do: State figures indicate that fewer than 3 percent of children are withdrawn by parents.
Differences in philosophy between the board and Allen have been evident since the Republican governor took office last year. Only two of the nine members are Allen appointees; the rest were appointed by Democratic former governors.
Three seats are up for reappointment this year, meaning that Allen can place a majority on the board.
In the Democratic-controlled legislature, the board's position on Allen's proposals is expected to carry weight. During a Senate Finance education subcommittee meeting Wednesday, Democrats on the panel spoke forcefully against Allen's plan to slash funds to prevent students from dropping out.
``It really is beyond me that we would take money I feel we so strongly need, because education is the way to get to the next ladder of society,'' Sen. Clarence Holland, D-Virginia Beach, told Secretary of Education Beverly Sgro.
The Board of Education voted in support of the funds Thursday after a presentation from a state Department of Correctional Education official who works with programs for youth offenders.
``The dropouts are committing the crimes - that's where the problems are,'' said Walter McFarlane, superintendent of the department.
On the charter school debate, board members had indicated ``conditional support'' in an earlier informal poll. Under the concept, a charter can be granted to open a school that would produce specific results.
The board Thursday rejected a resolution offered by President James P. Jones that spelled out specific criteria for charter schools and opposed Allen's plan to budget $500,000 for start-up costs for localities that wanted to experiment with charter schools.
Ultimately, the board decided that not enough details were available. Jones said it was difficult to take a position on something that as yet is not clearly defined and ``is so fluid in concept.''
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
by CNB