ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604050102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke has joined a growing list of school divisions that have asked the state to participate in the Goals 2000 program, which provides federal funds for teacher training, curriculum development and educational materials.
The city School Board has voted to petition the state to seek the $6.8 million that would be available next year for schools in Virginia.
Gov. George Allen so far has rejected the money because he believes it would lead to federal intrusion in local schools. But the General Assembly has directed the state to join Goals 2000 if 85 of the 134 school boards in Virginia request it.
Twenty-seven school boards have sent resolutions to the Virginia School Boards Association. Another five or six boards have voted to back Goals 2000, but their resolutions have not arrived at the association's headquarters in Charlottesville, said David Blount, governmental relations officer for the organization. This includes school boards in Roanoke and Montgomery counties, which voted in the past week to request state participation.
Blount said Thursday he expects more school boards to consider the issue during the next two weeks. Most boards meet during the first two weeks of the month.
Allen has hinted he might veto the Democrat-sponsored provision in the state budget directing Virginia to participate if 85 school boards request it.
The school boards organization has urged localities to petition for Goals 2000 money and, to make things easier, has mailed out model resolutions.
It has suggested that school boards act by April 17 when the General Assembly begins its veto session.
"Although we didn't set that date as a deadline, we believe it would be good for legislators to know how many school boards have requested state participation when they meet," Blount said.
If 85 school boards have petitioned the state to seek the money, it would increase the chance the General Assembly might override a veto, he said.
Forty-seven states are participating in Goals 2000, which has come under attack by Allen and conservatives in Congress.
Allen said the federal program requires that grants to local school divisions be awarded on a competitive basis, which means there's no guarantee individual Virginia school systems would get any money.
He said local school boards would have to create panels to develop state-approved educational plans, adding another layer of bureaucracy to school operations.
Federal education officials have said Virginia could use its Goals 2000 money to train teachers to implement the state's new academic standards.
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