ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702170022
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: NOTE: SHorter version ran in Metro edition. JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF
WRITER
THE SCHOOL BOARD is looking for money to buy land and build two new elementary schools.
The Bedford County School Board went against the county supervisors' request and voted Thursday to seek money for two new schools.
School Board members said they are not defying the supervisors' request to complete outstanding renovations before seeking more funds, but that they need to meet the Feb. 24 deadline for securing $3.5 million in Virginia Public School Authority bonds.
The money would be used to buy land and to pay for architectural and engineering plans for new elementary schools in the Staunton River and Forest areas.
The board wants the supervisors to act on the matter during a budget session Tuesday.
While Supervisors Chairwoman Lucille Boggess said she doesn't mind the School Board renewing its request, Supervisor Dale Wheeler is opposed.
"It's exactly the thing they asked for the other night, and the answer is 'no,''' Wheeler said. To get a favorable vote from him, he said, the School Board would have to finish projects at Moneta and Stewartsville elementary schools and Staunton River High School.
The School Board had asked the supervisors to secure $13.5 million - $10 million in state Literary Fund loans and $3.5 million in VPSA bonds - for the two new schools.
The supervisors, however, denied the request Monday and recommended the School Board seek a Literary Fund loan for the unfinished projects, estimated to cost $4 million.
Some supervisors have complained that in the past, money has been borrowed for one project and used for others. School officials said they have had to use the funds for emergency repairs at other schools.
Literary Fund loans, unlike VPSA bonds, require that the School Board own the property and have plans drawn up for specific projects. They also have lower interest rates.
School Board member Betty Earle said overcrowding in the Staunton River and Forest areas makes the new schools necessary. "We need more classrooms, and we owe it to our constituents who have been waiting a long time to see the development of new schools," she said.
She said the School Board may have erred in the past by not fully presenting its needs to the supervisors, but now there are several measures to resolve that problem.
In voting to ask for the VPSA bond, the School Board said it would spend the money only on the new projects and would give supervisors frequent updates on all projects and expenditures.
"The supervisors are saying 'we want more involvement and more accountability,''' Earle said, adding that she doesn't have any qualms with that.
"I think [the supervisors] want some control and to know where their money goes," said Stanley Butler, School Board chairman. "We need more communications."
But, he said, he was shocked by some statements from the supervisors, especially since the boards recently held a joint meeting.
"If there had been questions, why weren't they asked at the meeting?" he asked.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB