ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140026
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
IT IS WITH much interest that I follow the many articles and letters to the editor regarding the upcoming bond referendum and proposed Cave Spring High School. It needs to be pointed out, however, that the differences aren't between parts of the county, but between two different states.
Several years ago, the Glenvar area was allocated an inadequate sum of money to build a middle school. This addition was to house sixth, seventh and eighth grades in a separate wing while they shared the cafeteria, library, band room and other facilities with the high school.
Unfortunately for our children, the amount of money for the project was determined before needs were assessed. The eighth grade is now to be housed in the high-school building, and the addition will hold sixth and seventh grades only. If a movie were to be made of the process, it could be called ``Honey, I Shrunk the Middle School.''
The School Board now tells us that a middle school is a state of mind, and that we must make do.
Now, the Cave Spring area has needs that must be addressed. It doesn't need a ``state of the mind'' mentality of coping, however, since it could receive, if this referendum passes, a state-of-the-art educational facility. The county assessed its needs, made plans, and then designated the funds needed.
This part of the county is now ready to change states. Making do isn't good enough anymore. Our educational needs must be assessed and met. We've waited long enough.
DONNA D. DEAN
SALEM
The disabled face hazards
IT CONCERNS me that one issue surrounding the need for a new high school in Southwest County has been overlooked. The present Cave Spring High School, along with being overcrowded and needing renovation, presents more than an annoyance to students at the school with mental or physical disabilities.
The special-education department in the present building is filled beyond capacity, and it has room for only one wheelchair. This room has no direct exit. This, along with the lack of speedy and unblocked exits throughout the building, provides an extreme hazard to disabled students in the case of an emergency. Also dangerous are the main buildings's narrow halls and crowded conditions. In the past, students with physical disabilities have fallen and been injured because the halls are too congested for them to maneuver.
Sadly, the situation at Cave Spring High School has become so deplorable that some students were forced to remain in programs at Cave Spring Junior High because the high school cannot provide for them. Other students chose to commute to Northside rather than being subjected to conditions at Cave Spring.
This shutout is unfair to these students. They deserve the convenience of attending school in their own district.
It would be easier to excuse the dilapidated state of the present Cave Spring High School if county residents could be assured that all of its students were capable of coping with the hardships presented by the unsatisfactory building. However, many students aren't, and this complication to the lives of those with special needs is inexcusable.
The situation must be remedied to provide disabled students with the rights they need and deserve.
EMILY DOMALSKI
Student, Cave Spring High School
ROANOKE
Taxpayers are being shafted
ROANOKE County citizens, beware! You're about to be shafted again. Remember how you were told that you needed a county Police Department, and are paying more taxes to support it? Politics caused this. The Sheriff's Department could have been corrected to handle situations better.
Well, now the county's spendthrift government wants a mansion - I mean new high school.
As president of the Cresthill Civic League, I've learned that senior citizens and others on fixed incomes are having a hard time buying needed medicines and paying taxes that were already too high before the last property assessments. It's time to let the Board of Supervisors and School Board realize what the word ``no'' means.
Don't be intimidated or threatened. Vote ``no'' on April 2.
PAUL BELL
ROANOKE
Enrollment has been hyped
REGARDING Alan Sorensen's Feb. 18 column, ``If you disagree, you must be different and deviant'':
It reminded me of a few recent letters you've printed. Some Virginia Education Association members appear to have exactly that view. They seem unable to accept the possibility that people who disagree with them on specific issues may be as well-educated, public-spirited, intelligent, experienced and interested in improving education as they are. They do indeed imply `` ... the very impossibility of disinterested reasoning'' by their shrill attacks.
Consultants are people who borrow your watch to tell you the time. Hired by those who want to find urgent need for a new high school of a specific size, they're quite likely to find urgent need for just what their employers wanted. That doesn't mean there actually is urgent need - it just means they understand who pays their consulting fee and recommends them for future assignments.
A book available in the reference section of most public libraries, ``Virginia Statistical Abstract,'' 1994-95 edition, states on Page 147 that Roanoke County enrollment was 13,639 in 1986-87. ``Roanoke County Schools Highlights and Achievements,'' prepared and distributed in support of the April 2 bond issue, places 1995-96 enrollment at 13,759. Growth of 120 pupils in 10 years, an average of 12 per year in the entire county school system, hardly demonstrates urgent need.
Upgrades and improvements of present facilities, bus-route changes to encourage attendance where space is available and more flexible scheduling that includes year-round schooling opportunities likely would handle the school population of Roanoke County well into the next century.
HUGH KEY
ROANOKE
Set aside sectionalism
I THINK it would be remiss of Roanoke County parents to not respond to Cynthia Vaught's letter to the editor (Feb. 15, ``Zip-code elitism in the county'').
Because of misconceptions and lack of knowledge, the education package to be funded by the April 2 bond referendum has become a ``we against they'' issue. It's time to set the record straight and try to clear up several points.
The Penn Forest playground was a project of the Parent-Teacher Association, started with $500 seed money. Then, because of dedicated volunteers who solicited donations and grants, money was raised to build the first fully handicapped-accessible playground on the East Coast. Volunteers actually built the playground. Yes, it's a beautiful park built by the community, to be shared by the entire valley. To this day, the park is maintained by volunteers through their labor and donations!
Overcrowding is a problem at several county schools. Needs must be prioritized and acted upon by the degree of severity. I think it's unfair to suggest that Southwest County has an advantage over any other area. This simply isn't true. Penn Forest Elementary probably is one of the most economically diversified schools in the county. It has children from very well-to-do sections as well as children from homes with no electricity and running water.
Now is the time to look toward the future of all children and vote ``yes'' for the bond referendum.
KARLA SPROUSE
ROANOKE
LENGTH: Long : 140 linesby CNB