Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 14, 1995                   TAG: 9502140096
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SCHOOL CAN START EARLY - FOR SOME

The policy will mainly benefit schools in far Southwest Virginia that already are allowed to open before Labor Day.

``It doesn't benefit us that much,'' said Richard Kelley, assistant for operations for Roanoke schools.

``It won't help us,'' said Deanna Gordon, superintendent of schools for Roanoke County.

Under the policy recently approved by the state Board of Education, schools may open before Labor Day if they have been closed for bad weather for an average of eight days in five of the past 10 years.

The former policy required schools to have been closed an average of 10 days in five of the past 10 years.

Despite the record of 13 days missed last year, Gordon said Roanoke County has missed more than eight days only one other time during recent years.

Many schools in Western Virginia had hoped to get the General Assembly to give them authority to open before Labor Day, but they failed again to overcome the influence of the tourist industry, which argues that millions of dollars would be lost, particularly at attractions in the eastern part of the state.

State Sen. Elliott Schewel, D-Lynchburg, sponsored a pre-Labor Day opening bill with the backing of state Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County, but the Senate Education Committee killed the bill, 8-6.

David Blount, a lobbyist for the Virginia School Boards Association, said that there has been talk of a last-minute effort to attach the school-opening issue to another bill, but that appears doubtful.

The state Board of Education has voted to urge the General Assembly to repeal the Labor Day opening law.

``We feel this is a matter for local school boards to decide,'' said James Jones, president of the board. ``We feel this is not a matter to be regulated at the state level.''

Schools in Western and Southwest Virginia have said they need to begin the school year early so that if there is a bad winter, they don't have to cancel spring break and push the closing of school to the middle of June.