ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Some Roanoke County parents want the county to spend $7.8 million for a major renovation of Cave Spring Junior High School, now that a bond issue for a new Cave Spring High School has been defeated and the junior high will be used indefinitely.
Mary Nasca, president of the Cave Spring Junior High Parent-Teacher Association, said Tuesday the Board of Supervisors no longer has a reason to delay work on the school, because it will always house students.
She urged the supervisors to provide the money to renovate the school to correct deficiencies in more than a dozen categories ranging from the size of classrooms to the cafeteria.
An earlier $2.5 million renovation plan, first developed five years ago, would have installed air conditioning in the school, upgraded the electrical system and replaced the windows. But the supervisors have delayed action on that proposal several times in recent years. Nasca said it is no longer adequate.
If the bond issue for a new high school had been approved, Cave Spring Junior would have been closed. The students would have moved to Cave Spring High, which would have been converted into a middle school.
"Cave Spring Junior children and their teachers have been suffering through a rotten situation with their hopes for relief dashed many times," Nasca told the supervisors. "The $2.5 million [plan] was a stopgap measure to provide relief for a period of seven to nine years."
The projected $7.8 million cost for bringing the school up to state standards is based on a consultant's report last fall on Southwest County school needs, she said.
In the aftermath of the defeat of last week's bond referendum, about 50 parents attended the supervisors' meeting Tuesday to urge swift action on overcrowding and inadequate facilities at both the junior high and high school.
Some speakers criticized the supervisors, particularly Windsor Hills member Lee Eddy, for not working harder to persuade voters to approve the $37.4 million bond issue.
Cave Spring Supervisor Fuzzy Minnix agreed with Nasca that the county needs to make major renovations to the junior high now - and not rely on interim measures. Minnix said he will urge the supervisors and School Board to approve the plan being advocated by the parents.
Supervisors Chairman Bob Johnson assured the parents that Southwest County school needs will be dealt with in a "timely fashion," saying the supervisors will work with the School Board on them.
"These problems are not going away," Johnson said. "You have come to the right place. The buck stops here."
Catawba District Supervisor Spike Harrison said he hasn't given up on the idea of a new Cave Spring High School, but several county officials have said that seems unlikely to happen soon. As a teacher, Harrison said, he was saddened by the referendum's defeat.
Eddy said he probably hurt himself politically by remaining neutral on the bond issue even though a majority of his Windsor Hills constituents supported it. During the campaign, Eddy said Southwest County needed school improvements, but he had reservations about the plan for a new high school.
Johnson said he is exploring the appointment of a task force to study the county's school needs, funding and other issues arising from the referendum. He said he has talked with School Board Chairman Jerry Canada about the proposal.
The study group would likely have two members from each magisterial district and include people who opposed the bond issue as well as those who supported it, he said.
Johnson said the task force probably would be asked to investigate funding sources other than real estate taxes to finance school improvements. Many voters said they opposed last week's bond issue because of rising real estate taxes and high water bills.
To address voters' concerns, Johnson said, the county should freeze water and sewer rates and look at ways to cushion the impact of rising real estate assessments.
"There will not be another increase in water and sewer rates during my watch on the board," Johnson said. "Water rates have tripled because of the Spring Hollow Reservoir, and I don't think they should go any higher."
Representatives of Citizens for Education, a group that promoted the bonds, told the supervisors that the county must develop a plan to let ninth-graders in Southwest County attend Cave Spring High.
"There must be a level playing field for all the children in the county, " said Terri Langford, co-chairwoman of the group. "This educational problem must not be left untreated."
Roger O'Dell, a parent of children at Penn Forest Elementary and Cave Spring High, told the supervisors he was glad the bond referendum failed, even though he voted for it and worked for its approval. The county now has an opportunity to begin planning anew and take a fresh look with a broader perspective, he said.
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