ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 15, 1996 TAG: 9610150107
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Money won't replace a life, says John Saunders, vice chairman of the Roanoke School Board.
Saunders is worried that a student or school employee could be injured or killed in the school system's aviation program, which provides instruction in ground and flight training for students.
No amount of insurance would be adequate if a student or staff member were killed in an accident, he said Monday. "You can't put a value on the loss of life."
Despite the program's clean safety record, Saunders opposed the board's recent decision to renew liability insurance for it.
He wants school administrators to study alternative ways for the school system to provide the aviation training.
One option would be for the school system to subcontract the flight instruction, he said. "It would reduce our liability, but it would do nothing to reduce the risk of injury or death of a student. "
Saunders said he's not sure whether the schools should discontinue the aviation training, but they have no other program where the risk of death or serious injury is so high. "If we have an accident involving a student, it will garner national headlines."
Board member Melinda Payne also has reservations about the aviation program, including the cost in terms of the number of students enrolled.
"We are spending a great deal of money on it for a small number of children," Payne said. "I'm not sure it's the best use of our funds when you consider all of our needs."
Forty-three students are enrolled in the aviation program this school year at a cost of $127,000. Nineteen are taking flight training, and 24 are enrolled in ground training.
"I don't know if we are getting enough return on our investment," Payne said. "John is right. If we have an accident, no amount of money will make up for the loss."
But Superintendent Wayne Harris and most board members want to keep the program. The board voted to renew the liability insurance.
Harris believes the aviation training has been successful, judging by the number of students it has attracted.
Nearly 400 students have participated in the aeronautical science program since it began nearly a decade ago. Sixty-two of them have graduated from college or are currently attending college, Harris said. Thirty have received pilot's licenses, while many others have jobs in the aviation industry, he said.
School officials said no student or staff member has been injured since the program began.
"We've never had anyone with a scratch or cut finger," said Tom Pearman, an instructor in the program.
The aviation training was one of the city's earliest and most controversial magnet school programs. Critics said the schools should not own and operate airplanes, but should concentrate instead on academics.
The program, which is housed at the Roanoke Regional Airport, has a flight simulator to familiarize students with instrument and flight control, and two single-engine airplanes for the flight training.
Federal funds paid for the airplanes, most of the equipment and the initial costs for the program, but the schools no longer receive federal money for it, Harris said.
The cost this year will be covered by $95,000 in local funds and $32,000 in state money, he said.
The aviation program, which is part of William Fleming High's magnet center, was started before Harris became superintendent. The school system made a commitment that the aviation training would be part of the magnet program, he said.
The magnet programs are part of Roanoke's voluntary desegregation effort. The goal is to attract white students to predominantly black schools by establishing innovative educational programs.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB