ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604260080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
The Southwest County residents said it would be unfair to fund any project that was included in the defeated bond issue without funding them all.
AGAINST THE WISHES of hundreds of Southwest Roanoke County residents, the School Board voted to ask the Board of Supervisors to pay for some of the smaller projects included in the defeated bond issue.
The Roanoke County School Board will ask the Board of Supervisors for funds to install air conditioning at Cave Spring Junior High School and to complete the Northside Middle School gymnasium in the aftermath of the defeat of the county's school bond referendum this month.
The School Board also voted Thursday night to ask the supervisors for money to buy science lab equipment and other instructional materials for the new Glenvar Middle School. But a sharply divided board decided that the Glenvar school would be furnished with used desks and furniture.
The School Board will ask the supervisors to accept a $2.5 million state Literary Fund loan to put in air conditioning and upgrade the electrical system at Cave Spring Junior so more computers and modern equipment can be used in the school.
The supervisors refused to approve the Cave Spring project last fall, saying then that it didn't want to spend money on a building that might be closed if a new high school were built.
With the defeat of the bond referendum and the uncertainty about a new high school, the School Board voted to revive the plan for air conditioning and electrical improvements at the junior high school.
About 100 residents from Southwest County told the board they are afraid the county will spend only $2.5 million on Cave Spring Junior and forget the need for other renovations at the school and the need for a new high school.
But Chairman Jerry Canada assured the residents that the board will keep the need for more improvements in mind as it develops a new package of school projects for the supervisors.
Angry over the defeat of the bond referendum, which included a new Cave Spring High, the Southwest County residents wanted the School Board to halt spending on all school improvement projects until a study of school needs in all county areas is completed and priorities set.
A petition bearing the signatures of 742 people asking for a halt in spending for all projects also was presented to the board. The residents said it would be unfair to fund any project that was included in the defeated bond issue without funding them all.
They urged the board not to ask the supervisors for $2.8 million to complete the Northside gym project and $600,000 for equipment for Glenvar Middle School.
Voters in the Northside and Glenvar areas voted overwhelmingly against the $37.4 million bond issue, which included funds for the Glenvar equipment and to finish the Northside gym. Because voters in these areas rejected the bonds, the Southwest County residents said it would be unfair to proceed with projects in those areas.
But Superintendent Deanna Gordon said a halt to all projects would hurt the county's instructional program and cause costs to increase. She recommended that the county proceed with the Cave Spring Junior air conditioning, Northside gym and Glenvar equipment.
Gordon said she understands that Southwest County residents are upset about the defeat of the bond issue for a new high school, but she added, "We don't see that penalizing children in one section of the county is a role model we want to set."
The decision to ask the supervisors for $2.8 million to finish the Northside gym and auditorium came on a 4-1 vote, with Windsor Hills representative Tom Leggette dissenting. Leggette said Northside deserves a new gym, but the supervisors will have to dip into reserve funds to finish the project.
Construction has started on the first phase of the project, which costs $3.1 million.
Gordon recommended that the board ask the supervisors for $600,000 for equipment and new furniture for Glenvar Middle. But the board rejected that recommendation on a 3-2 vote, with Chairman Jerry Canada and Catawba representative Marion Roark dissenting.
Vice Chairman Michael Stovall then proposed that the board ask the supervisors for $300,000 for Glenvar. He said this will be enough to buy equipment for science labs and some other instructional equipment for the middle school that will open this fall. But school officials said they won't be able to buy new furniture with this amount.
Roark, whose district includes Glenvar, was upset by the decision to reduce the request to $300,000. "This is not what we ought to be doing," she told the Southwest County residents. "Would you want to put used furniture in your school?''
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