Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510190058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The average salary for Salem teachers was $35,536 in the 1993-94 school year. In Floyd County, the average pay was nearly $10,000 lower: $25,674.
In the same year, Roanoke spent $5,972 per pupil in local, state and federal funds for schools. Craig County spent $4,167.
Bedford County spent $1,104 per pupil for construction and remodeling of school buildings, including paying off debt on schools. Giles County spent $142.
The differences in spending on education are highlighted in a new report by the Virginia Education Association, a teachers' organization that has lobbied for changes in the state's school-funding formula.
The VEA contends that the formula is "broken" and perpetuates educational disparities. It claims that inequities in school finances are caused primarily by the lack of adequate state aid.
"When you have such a wide range of local financial ability and low state support for education, you get disparities," said Rob Jones, VEA president.
"No matter what the size or affluence of the school system, the quality of instruction should be comparable," he said.
The statewide report shows disparities in the financial ability and effort of localities to support education. Wide differences exist in the number of instructional personnel per 1,000 students, per-pupil spending on schools, teachers' salaries and other financial measures.
Jones said the teachers' group does not believe more money necessarily will solve all problems in education.
"But there is pretty clear evidence that if money is spent wisely, it can improve students' performance," he said.
The report is based on statistical information compiled by the Department of Education and Department of Taxation. It ranks localities in several categories, including effort, teacher salaries and spending on educational services.
Jones said the study indicates that in terms of financial ability, many poorer localities make a good effort to support education while some affluent school systems do not. Even with state and federal funds, some poor localities spend 30 percent less per pupil, he said.
While the financial and tax data come from the state, the VEA makes the calculations and does the rankings.
Philip Leone, director of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, said Wednesday he could not comment on the accuracy of the calculations and rankings because he has not reviewed VEA's methodology.
Leone said there are educational disparities in Virginia, but JLARC disagrees with the VEA on some funding issues. The VEA believes that the latest changes in the state-funding formula caused more disparities, but JLARC says no.
"You won't find anyone neutral on the school-funding formula," Leone said. "Everyone has a view on it and the disparity issue."
A few localities have complained about the rankings in the past because they have been rated low in effort, but Jones said the accuracy seldom has been questioned.
Roanoke County, Giles County, Roanoke and Salem rated in the top half of 134 school systems in the state in terms of fiscal effort in 1993-94, the latest year for which statistics are available.
Roanoke County ranked 12th in effort in terms of local spending for every $100 of financial ability, based on the local composite index, the state's measure of fiscal capability.
Giles County ranked 20th; Salem, 45th; and Roanoke, 55th.
Most other localities in the region ranked in the bottom half of the state's school systems.
In terms of financial ability, those ranking in the top half include: Salem, 30th; Roanoke, 34th; Roanoke County, 49th; and Bedford County, 56th.
Bath County, which has millions of dollars worth of taxable property in power-generating facilities and other developments, ranked No. 1 in the state in financial ability but 129th in effort.
Bath has $2.3 million worth of taxable property for every pupil. Lee County has $122,753.
Dixie White, assistant director of VEA's research division, said the rankings are not intended to be value judgments on the localities' support for education.
"We put the information out there for everyone to draw their own conclusions," White said. The rankings are based on financial information provided to the state Department of Education by the school systems.
Here are other differences among school systems in Western Virginia:
State funds - Floyd County received the most state funds per pupil, $2,474; Giles County was second, $2,449; and Craig County rated third, $2,391. All three were above the state average, $1,817. Salem received the least in the region, $1,814.
Local funds - Roanoke provided $2,794 per pupil in local funds, the most in the region; Roanoke County, $2,697; and Salem, $2,617. Craig County provided the least, $998.
Federal funds - Roanoke received the most, $659; Giles County was second, $397; and Craig County, $352. Botetourt County received $202, the smallest amount.
Taxable value of real estate per child - Franklin County ranked at the top in the region, $316,150; Bedford County was second, $288,447; Botetourt County, $287,444. Pulaski County ranked the lowest, $209,408.
Graduates continuing education - Radford, 93.1 percent, the highest in the region; Salem ranked second, 86.4 percent; and Roanoke, 82.4 percent. Floyd County ranked lowest in the region, 54.8 percent.
by CNB