ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 2, 1996 TAG: 9604020050
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
ROANOKE COUNTY residents who support a fine educational system should go to the polls today and vote "yes" on the $37.4 million school-bond referendum.
It will be nothing less than a vote for continued commitment to excellent schools - throughout the county.
While most of this bond issue - $33.6 million - is slated for a new high school for Southwest County, residents of other areas should keep in mind that this is just the middle piece of a five-year plan for $90 million in school improvements throughout the county. These are designed to help maintain the educational quality for which the entire system is noted.
And, while the Cave Spring high school is the most expensive single project in that five-year blueprint, voters also should keep in mind that the school is designed to serve the largest student population - by far. Enrollment has been growing steadily in Southwest County.
As has tax revenue. Slightly more than 40 percent of the county's schoolchildren live in Southwest County; 45 percent of the assessed value of real estate is in Southwest County, as well. Kids in its schools are hardly being pampered at the expense of those in other parts of the county. In fact, they're not being pampered at all.
Cave Spring Junior High enrollment is well beyond capacity. High school enrollment is at capacity. Ninth-graders cannot take higher-level courses without sacrificing part of their school day for travel to and from the high school. And sixth- through eighth-graders don't have the benefits attached to attending a middle school. There's no question that a new high school for grades nine through 12 is needed.
Any option chosen for meeting that need would cost close to - and, in some cases, more than - the proposed 1,900-student high school. This newspaper agrees with those who would prefer, on educational grounds, two smaller high schools. But critics of the bond issue can't expect this to be the outcome if the bond issue fails. The costs of operating two schools would make this a more expensive option, hardly a choice that county officials are likely to make if taxpayers say "no" now.
In the short term, of course, stopgap fixes at Cave Spring schools would cost less than any of five options for new construction. But a new high school still would have to be built sometime. The chance it will cost less in a few years is about the same as the chance we'll see the return of the 5-cent hamburger.
The county can handle the bond issue without raising real-estate tax rates this year. This promise can't be extended into the future. But one thing is for sure: The community's long-term prosperity won't be served by weakening one of its primary assets - good schools.
If you live in Roanoke County and believe that money spent on education is one of the best investments the public can make, vote "yes" today.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB