ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Residents of Southwest Roanoke County voiced strong support Monday night for a bond issue for a new Cave Spring High School that has caused emotional debate and sharply divided voters in other areas of the county.
If there is widespread opposition to the plan to spend $33.6 million for the new school in the area it would serve, it was missing at the last in a series of community meeting on the referendum by school officials.
Unlike meetings in other areas where speakers have attacked the bond issue, most of those at the Cave Spring meeting backed the proposal.
More than 300 attended the session - and only a handful questioned or spoke against the $37.4 million referendum next Tuesday.
The Southwest County residents even got support from other areas: A Northside High School student and a Vinton resident urged county voters to unite behind the bond issue.
The residents said a new 1900-student high school is needed so Cave Spring students, particularly ninth-graders, can have the same type of facilities as those in other parts of the county. Ninth-graders in Southwest County must attend junior high schools because there is no room for them at the high school.
"Our students should have the same advantages as other students in the county," said Donna Vittar, a parent and member of the steering committee for the new high school.
Not only are ninth-graders at Cave Spring Junior unable to attend high school, they don't have access to technology because of the restrictions of the school's outdated electrical system, she said. "These students are getting shortchanged twice."
Others said the new school is needed to help recruit industries to the county and enable Cave Spring students to compete academically when they get to college.
Kevin Blair said the hew high school will benefit the entire Roanoke Valley, not just Cave Spring, because it will help attract industries that consider the quality of schools in choosing sites for new plants.
"If we fail to pass this referendum, it will be a blow to attracting jobs to this area so our children can stay home and find jobs," said James Brock, a businessman.
Some residents in Glenvar and North County have complained that much of the money would be spent on the new high school. They have said that Southwest County is an affluent area that gets favored treatment by school officials.
But Terry Smith, mother of one child in elementary school and another in Cave Spring Junior, said not all Southwest County residents are rich.
"To my neighbors in other parts of the county, I would tell them that I wear a cloth coat, and I drive a second-hand car," Smith said.
Smith said most people at the meeting at Cave Spring High seemed to back the bond issue, but she would direct her remarks at Windsor Hills Supervisor Lee Eddy.
Eddy said some type of school improvements are needed to relieve overcrowding and put ninth-graders in the high school but that he has reservations about the proposed plan. If the bond issue is approved, the county might not be able to afford additional bond issues to pay for other school needs and nonschool projects, he said.
Eddy said he remains on the fence on whether he will vote for the bond issue.
Cave Spring Supervisor Fuzzy Minnix supports the referendum.
But Don Terp, leader of a group opposing the bonds, said additional debt will be "financially devastating" for the county. High taxes and water bills are causing people to move out of the county, he said.
"We can't afford this bond issue. We will lose our middle class," Terp said. "We have spent a pile of money [in recent years], and this will put the county on the edge financially."
William McAuley, a retiree who lives near Cave Spring High, said school buildings don't improve the quality of education. The county can't afford frills in schools, he said.
McAuley also complained that the new high school is likely to be flooded because the site is in a flood plain.
James Copeland, a representative for the Moseley McClintock Group, said part of the site is in a flood plain, but it will be raised so the building will be at least 2 feet above the 100-year flood elevation. The school will be situated on the front part of the site on Merriman Road near Penn Forest Elementary School.
Moseley McClintock is a Richmond firm that is doing the feasibility study and designing the school.
The rear of the school will be raised above the 10-year flood elevation. Physical education fields and parking will be in this area, Copeland said.
Starkey Park is in the floodway adjacent to the school site. The proposed development of the school site calls for joint use of the park's recreational facilities with the county. Facilities at the high school, such as concession stand, restrooms and additional ball fields, will provide needed facilities for the park, he said.
Copeland said the Virginia Department of Transportation will require a traffic study to determine the necessary road improvements to accommodate the school. The parking provided for the high school will be available for needed public parking for the park, he said.
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