ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996              TAG: 9608290043
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-14 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE 

THE SOUND OF THINGS TO COME?

Much of Tuesday's talk centered around how the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors might pay for four new schools. But a brief exchange between two board members sounded more like a preseason campaign debate than an attempt to reach compromise.

Henry Jablonski, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and Barry Worth, vice chairman of the School Board, both represent the Riner area. Worth, though, is an appointee whose seat will be up for election for the first time next year. Jablonski has won re-election four times, including a squeaker in 1993. Neither man has announced his plans for next year. Perhaps a clue, though, is revealed in the following give-and-take:

Worth: "This is why we need to sit down and say 'How are we going to fund schools in the future?' Because [the supervisors have] always balanced the budget on the backs of the school system."

Jablonski: "We put a great deal of money into the school system. You are by far the largest budget but we are the ones who take the heat from voters. ... You need to give these things some thought and political speeches don't help at all."

Worth: "I'm not making a political statement, I'm speaking facts ..."

Stay tuned in '97.

LENGTH: Short :   33 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  (headshots) Jablonski, Worth.