ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610310014
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
TYPE: ANALYSIS
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Group therapy takes time.
First, there are the age-old grudges to get through, the "he said-she said" miscommunications to sort out. Then, the real work can begin, where both sides iron out philosophical differences and create productive solutions.
Like two estranged families, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and School Board have spent this fall trying to work through those old issues. At their third joint meeting Tuesday, the groups appeared to have benefited from the efforts.
Two previous meetings - one in August that began budget discussions and another earlier this month to negotiate the fate of Blacksburg Middle School - resulted in no definitive actions.
But as one board member put it, those initial meetings did produce a great deal of "elbow-rubbing." And when it comes down to allocating money and understanding needs, that may be the best tool the two groups can have.
Budget planning for the 1997-98 year begins in November. This time last year, the boards hadn't met once. When the School Board requested a whopping $5.8 million increase in funds, and the Board of Supervisors allocated only $70,000, the division between the boards grew deep and bitter.
As in years past, some Board of Supervisors members said the School Board made unrealistic requests of a fiscally conservative county. School Board members, meanwhile, argued that spending habits of the Board of Supervisors fluctuates yearly, leaving them stuck in a guessing game.
Tuesday, School Board member Roy Vickers suggested a solution: establish a set percentage of the county's growth each year for the school system to receive.
"Other counties allocate a certain amount," agreed Supervisor Joe Gorman. "We don't do that, but I think it'd be a very good way to project into the future."
It also would be a way for the School Board to set realistic goals for starting new initiatives, like lowering pupil-teacher ratios and other far-reaching goals.
There would be a negative side to such a plan, warned Superintendent Herman Bartlett. If the county's economy worsens, the school system's percentage will drop along with the rest of the county's budget.
Both sides agreed it was worth looking into, and asked their respective staffs to research budget procedures in other counties.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Henry Jablonski said the conversation was productive.
"It's a good discussion because it helps me realize that we look at things differently," he said.
But they can reach the same conclusion. For example, both boards agreed something needed to be done about how the county allocated money for capital improvement projects.
For three of the past five years, the School Board received no funding from the county to work on major school repairs such as roof replacements. School Board member Barry Worth said the school system is forced to put off maintenance until it reaches emergency levels.
But several supervisors argued that many projects are taken care of, just not through the capital improvement fund. Jablonski said the supervisors have been criticized for years because they didn't put enough money into the fund, and yet major projects are completed through various other county sources.
"Maybe that's a bad accounting move, or a public relations move," suggested Supervisor Nick Rush.
The two groups did discuss the ongoing school building project, but only in terms of how much the three new schools might cost. Both sides agree the schools - including middle schools in Christiansburg and Blacksburg and a high school in Shawsville - could raise the real-estate tax rate by 18 to 20 cents.
But that does not include any additional revenue the county might gain through growth in the next 10 years, so tax estimates are sketchy.
The next challenge for these two boards is to finalize a school building plan, including how to pay for it and where, exactly, the schools will be built.
For now, the focus appears to be on getting through this year's budget negotiations smoothly.
The Board of Supervisors invited the School Board to its yearly economic forecast meeting, in late November, when Finance Director Carol Edmonds will describe her estimates of next year's tax revenue.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB