Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510300025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
State Sen. Brandon Bell (R)
"We need funding incentives that directly reward measurable improvements in performance, specifically for marked improvements in attendance and basic literacy. I have proposed a $10 million measure that will do just that."
Bell's plan would offer cash to school systems that mark the greatest improvements in standardized test scores and attendance. School boards would be able to use the money as they saw fit. Bell contrasts his proposal with an existing $10 million state fund that pays grants to school systems with high dropout rates for dropout prevention programs. Bell contends that the existing system rewards school systems with high dropout rates.
John Edwards (D)
Wants to increase state funding for public schools.
For the House of Delegates seat covering western Bedford County, most of Roanoke County except the Southwest precincts, southern Botetourt County and Craig County.
Del. Richard Cranwell (D)
"I think the most important thing Virginia can do to improve public schools is to continue to build on the progress we started last year by putting computer technology in all of our classrooms and to continue the process of lowering class sizes. Last year, we took steps to put computer hardware in all 1,785 public schools in Virginia. Next, we will start the process to put a computer in all the 50,500 classrooms in Virginia. Last year, we lowered class sizes for students in certain high-risk and moderate at-risk grades. Now, we need to make sure that every class of kindergarten through third-grade students has a teacher-pupil ratio no greater than 1 to 22. All the studies have indicated that one of the most effective things we can do to improve the quality of education for young people is to reduce class sizes, particularly in the early grades, so that they can have a good foundation and are reading and doing math on grade level by grade 3."
Trixie Averill (R)
"The Democrats will argue that simply giving schools more money will solve all the problems. This is not true. I believe additional funding for public schools is needed, but there must be definitive results. The taxpayers demand results. There must be higher academic standards and accountability. There also must be improved safety and discipline. Teachers must be given the confidence and ability to retake control of their classrooms. And finally, there must be greater local control of our schools. This includes truly returning lottery profits to the localities. Instead of simply giving more money to schools and expecting nothing in return, I propose accountability."
For the House of Delegates seat covering Floyd County, most of Franklin County, part of Pittsylvania County and the Moneta precinct in Bedford County.
Del. Allen Dudley (R)
"It is very difficult to limit suggested improvements in public education to one thing, but certainly real academic reform, with higher academic standards as the cornerstone, would be my choice."
Claude Whitehead (D)
"The single most important thing we can do to improve public schools, in my opinion, is to reduce class sizes to teachable levels and enforce these size requirements. A 22-to-1 pupil-teacher ratio should be the maximum for any schoolroom in Virginia, K through 3. Even lower ratios of 20-1 and 18-1 were designated by this year's General Assembly for at-risk students in K through 3.
"We also have to establish smaller maximums for the higher grades, and we must tighten the requirements on obtaining waivers from these limits."
For the state Senate seat covering Montgomery County, part of Pulaski County, most of Carroll County, Galax, Grayson County and Smyth County.
State Sen. Madison Marye (D)
"The single most important thing the state can do for public schools is to provide adequate funding [that] lowers class size and provides education opportunities for students in the New River Valley and Southwest Virginia equal to those in Northern Virginia.
"A great equalizer in education is technology. I propose to introduce an initiative in the General Assembly to purchase computers to bring the ratio of children to computers to 3-to-1 from the current state average of 10-to-1 over the next four years. At the same time, we need to be investing in teacher education to utilize the computers to the best advantage."
Pat Cupp (R)
"Teaching our children the basics, while holding teachers and children responsible for higher standards, must be accomplished if we are to reverse the downward trends in the test scores and quality education that we have seen in the last decade.
"Although additional funding is important in improving public schools, the majority of teachers with whom I have spoken said that discipline in the classroom is the main obstruction to teaching. I feel that the job of the state is to help the teachers obtain discipline, and one way to achieve this is to pass legislation to protect teachers from frivolous lawsuits and personal harm and to provide legislation to encourage high standards."
For the state Senate seat covering Bedford, Bedford County, Lynchburg and Amherst County.
Del. Steve Newman (R)
"I wish it was as simple as one thing. There are [a] few. First, raise the standards of quality to the point where a high school diploma means a mastery of math, history, science and English. No.2 is to fully implement merit pay so that our best teachers are rewarded and aren't tempted to go into private industry. Third, and probably most important, is involve the parents in every aspect of education. Any time the [Virginia Education Association] or other associations try to keep parents out of the way, education worsens. When we involve parents, give them full disclosure, give them say in education, education is made better."
Barbara Coleman (D)
"First of all, it can set attainable and realistic standards for learning. [The state] should reinforce the basics: reading, writing, reasoning, and math, of course.
" And those standards should be basic across the state. And [the state] should meet [its] financial obligations to see that they are implemented.
"A locality may go beyond, but the state must provide the funding for reaching those standards of learning."
For the House of Delegates seat covering Blacksburg, part of Christiansburg, northern Montgomery County and eastern Giles County.
Del. Jim Shuler (D)
"End regional disparity; give every student, regardless of where he or she lives, an equal chance to learn."
Larry Linkous (R)
"It is crucial that we adequately fund existing schools and provide funds for the construction of new facilities. But along with those funds, the state should give the localities greater control of their schools. Local school boards know the needs of their particular districts much better than Richmond does. That is why I support the return of lottery funds to the localities."
For the House of Delegates seat covering Southeast Roanoke, Northeast Roanoke, part of Northwest Roanoke and the Peters Creek Road section of Roanoke County.
Del. Vic Thomas (D)
"The most important part of a child's education is individual attention from his or her teacher in the early years. We must reduce the size of the classes in our schools. The Omnibus Education Act provided funds to reduce teacher-student ratios to as low as 1-to-18 for grades K-3 in schools with large numbers of at-risk students."
Jeff Artis (R)
"In the last 40 years, the Democrats have shut down public schools rather than integrate, and have allowed our schools to dumb down their standards while practicing economic discrimination through funding disparities in the General Assembly. Now, they're playing a shell game with the public lottery funding for our public schools. The fact is the Democrats don't care about public education and our children are paying the price for their game playing."
For the House of Delegates seat covering most of Northwest Roanoke, South Roanoke, Southwest Roanoke and the Cave Spring-Hunting Hills section of Roanoke County.
Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum (D)
"I have committed to a goal of having every student reading and performing on grade level by the third grade. In order to accomplish this objective, we must commit $10 million a year in incentive monies to school-readiness programs for disadvantaged 4-year-olds and $35 million a year to reduce class sizes for disadvantaged children in the critical primary grades (K-3). These monies come from state lottery proceeds, which for the first time were legally dedicated to the local public schools under the Education Act of 1995."
Newell Falkinburg (R)
"The single most important thing the state can do to improve public schools is to establish rigid and enforced academic standards. Our system of public education has failed. We are graduating students who do not have the skills to take care of themselves. They can't read, they can't write, and they're unable to do simple math. Twenty-five percent of college-bound students require remedial work. Average SAT scores have fallen, and reading skills have dropped. This is a shameful record. Yet since 1985, K-12 education has been the single largest item in the state budget, increasing 65 percent. We have had a formula for failure."
Dan Casey, Richard Foster, Todd Jackson, Brian Kelley, Kimberly N. Martin, Leslie Taylor and Dwayne Yancey contributed to this report.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB