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

DATE: MONDAY, September 11, 1995                   TAG: 9509110005
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHAT'LL IT BE? EDUCATION OR PRISONS?

"Most folks would agree that education is an investment and not an expense. Virginia spends roughly four times as much housing each prisoner as it does educating each school student. Also, in-state college tuition is exceptionally high. Common sense tells us that better-educated citizens would lead to a reduced prison population, yet Virginia takes the opposite tack. How would you rectify this disparity?"

Melissa Matusevich, Blacksbur

The background:

Gov. George Allen drew sharp criticism during the last General Assembly session after proposing cuts to higher education and other state programs while asking for permission to borrow more than $400 million to pay for building prisons. The Democrats, who hold majorities in both houses of the legislature, handed Allen a devastating defeat, restoring most of the $403 million the governor had slashed from the budget, including funding for colleges and universities, and giving him only about half of what he had requested for prisons.

The General Assembly's role:

The governor proposes the state budget; the General Assembly must approve it.

The answers

The question was directed to the candidates for the House seat that covers Blacksburg, part of Christiansburg, northern Montgomery County and eastern Giles County.

Del. Jim Shuler (D): "I worked for and supported the successful Omnibus Education Act of 1995, which, in addition to our 1994 appropriations, will return all lottery profits [$300 million annually] to local school districts for education disparity funding, technology and computerization, libraries, dropout prevention, school maintenance funding and other important educational needs. It is a sad day that we are being led by prison-building proponents to spend $15,000 to $20,000 annually per person to incarcerate criminals at the expense of education, which costs one-fifth the price. I rejected the governor's $100 million reduction in funds for K-12 and higher education, libraries and mental health. Through education, we can reduce crime and increase economic prosperity for all Virginians."

Larry Linkous (R): "I agree that education is an investment in our future. That is why I agreed with the budget amendment that was successfully offered by the present administration during the 1994 general session. This amendment added $23 million to the higher education budget, reversing the cuts imposed by the Wilder administration. Last year, we were finally able to put the brakes on skyrocketing tuition costs that had climbed 250 percent during the 1980s. Under the present structure, tuition growth has been capped at the rate of inflation. I applaud this move. I would also support the proposal to return lottery revenues to localities. This would allow more local control in our children's education through this increased funding. As to the prison issue, I believe that the first responsibility of government is ensuring the safety of its citizens. If we get to the point that we do not need more prisons to protect Virginians from violent criminals, then I will stop supporting prison construction."

Also on the record:

Shuler joined other Democrats in opposing Allen's prison bond initiative; he favors a pay-as-you-go approach to paying for prisons. If elected to a second term, he plans to form a Legislator's Education Caucus and work to make education the state's No.1 priority again.

Linkous says he favors providing a "first-class" K-12 education for Virginia's children, maintaining what he describes as an excellent tradition of higher education and protecting citizens from violent felons. He thinks all three can be accomplished by returning lottery revenues to localities.

What other candidates say:

Although you wouldn't know it from their rhetoric, there's general agreement between the parties on how many prisons Virginia needs to build between now and 2001. The disagreement is mostly over financing and timing - Republicans favor debt and an immediate commitment; Democrats prefer to pay more cash up front and don't want to authorize construction until close to the time the prisons are needed.

As for education funding, most Democrats say the state needs to increase state spending. Republicans are less willing to commit to more funding; they point to Allen's efforts to cap college tuition increases.

\ Got a question for the candidates? Send it to Citizens' Agenda, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA 24010, or fax it to 981-3346 or e-mail dyanceyinfi.net. Please include your name, address, daytime phone number and specify which candidates your question is for.

Citizens' Agenda is your opportunity to get answers from this year's General Assembly candidates.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB