ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996 TAG: 9603190085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: THE CITIZEN'S AGENDA
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS are dropping throughout Roanoke County - except in booming Cave Spring, where even more growth is projected. That underlies the pitch for a new high school in Southwest County.
When Roanoke County was gaining 600 to 800 new students a year in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it built a new school almost every year.
The county constructed nine schools within a decade and built additions at a dozen others. Four new schools were financed with one bond issue alone.
But the boom subsided in the 1980s after Roanoke annexed nearly 16 square miles of the county and Salem withdrew from the county school system.
The county has built only one new school - William Byrd Middle - in the past two decades, although it has expanded several schools.
Now, school officials propose to build a 1,900-student high school, a move that has stirred controversy and triggered charges of favoritism toward Southwest County schools.
Some voters have questioned why the county wants to build a new Cave Spring High and make additions to other schools when county enrollment has decreased in many areas with only a slight increase overall in the past 10 years.
The county's enrollment is 13,754 this year, up by only 31 from 13,723 in 1985-86.
``School enrollment is down,'' said Martin Carle, who lives in north Roanoke County. ``Why is money being spent for unneeded schools, when the flood and drainage problems have been put on hold for years?'' he asks.
Carle is correct that the number of students has decreased in North, East and West County in the past decade.
The biggest decline has occurred in North County, where enrollment has dropped by 4.2 percent - from 3,564 in 1985-86 to 3,411 this school year.
In West County, there has been a 3 percent decrease - from 1,337 to 1,296. And in East County, enrollment has dropped by 1.1 percent in the past 10 years - from 3,500 to 3,460. The enrollment at the Roanoke County Career Center, a vocational school that draws students from all parts of the county, has dropped from 130 to 105.
But there has been a 5.6 percent growth in the number of students in Southwest County schools in the past decade. The enrollment is 5,482, up from 5,192.
Educational consultants predict the enrollment in Southwest County will accelerate over the next 10 years because of projected residential growth. The Board of Supervisors will consider a development soon that would add more than 800 houses.
Consultants who helped prepare a report on school needs in Southwest County last year estimate the enrollment in grades nine-12 will increase 18.5 percent, from 1,615 to 1,914, in the next decade. That is the basis of the recommendation for a 1,900-student high school.
Ninth-graders in Southwest County cannot be housed at Cave Spring High because there is no room for them. Cave Spring High has nearly 1,250 students in grades 10-12; ninth-graders attend Cave Spring Junior High and Hidden Valley Junior High.
Consultants predict the total enrollment for all grades in Southwest County will increase by 9.5 percent in 10 years, from 5,497 to 6,014.
Hugh Key, a Southwest County resident and longtime Republican activist, questions the accuracy of the consultants' enrollment projections.
``Hired by those who want to find an urgent need for a new high school of a specific size,'' Key said, ``[consultants] are likely to find urgent need for just what their employers want.''
He said improvements to existing schools, more flexible scheduling and changes in bus routes to encourage attendance where space is available probably would handle the enrollment increase without building a new school.
Others disagree.
Carol White, a Southwest County mother of two school-age children and an unsuccessful School Board candidate last year, said county voters must put aside their emotions and examine the facts.
"Residential growth in Southwest County has eclipsed that in other areas," White said. ``As a result, enrollment in Southwest County schools has increased during the past decade, while overall school enrollment has decreased.
``Although the number of high school students has remained fairly constant, the number of elementary and middle school-age children has been increasing. These children must have somewhere to attend high school.''
Marty Robison, executive assistant for county schools, said space needs have also increased in recent years because of requirements for special education programs.
In some classes, there are only four or five students, but they require a separate classroom, Robison said. ``We don't have 20 to 25 students in every class like we did when I went to school.''
Even though some schools have fewer students than previously, reasons still exist for overcrowding, Robison said. Many schools have lower student-teacher ratios, and some classrooms have been converted into computer laboratories.
School officials said some space problems can be solved with changes in attendance boundaries, but others require additions to buildings and new schools.
Because of overcrowding, the county is using 19 modular classroom units at 11 schools this year, including four at Cave Spring Junior High.
David Courey, a Southwest County resident who is upset about county spending and taxing policies, said apartment residents are responsible for part of the growth in enrollment and that they should help pay more for school improvements.
``Let's face facts. Apartment dwellers are where your expenses are coming from now,'' Courey said. ``That's where your children are, they're going into the school. That's not bad, don't misunderstand me, but that's where the expense is coming from.''
Courey thinks the county needs a dual system of taxation so apartment residents would pay a share of the cost for schools and other services.
``I'm not against apartment dwellers. I'll probably end up being one sometime, but we need to lower the tax rate to $1 [per $100] value of homeowners' property, with the rest to be picked up by apartment dwellers,'' he said. The county's tax rate is $1.13.
State law does not provide for such a dual-taxation system, however. Apartment buildings are taxed at their fair-market value, like other real estate.
Frank Kallio, a Southwest County resident with three children who have graduated from Cave Spring High, said he doesn't think the county should set a price tag on preparing students for the future.
``In my view, this school is an investment, not an expense,'' he said. ``You just can't freeze time and stand still. At some point, you have to bite the bullet and make logical, sensible investments; and in my opinion, this school is one of them.''
Theodore Allen, a former college teacher with two children who graduated from Cave Spring High, thinks a new high school would be a good economic investment for the county.
``It will tax our property value, but it will bring into this county the kind of people who are making money and will spend money,'' Allen said.
Have a question about the Roanoke County bond issue? Let us know so we can follow up. Write Joel Turner, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010.
LENGTH: Long : 129 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Courey, Kallio, White.by CNB