THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409300533
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Staff report
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
To nip crime in the bud, the state Board of Education on Thursday passed two resolutions asking the General Assembly to spend more money on alternative schooling and to require criminal background checks of new teachers.
If the state is willing to spend up to $2 billion to build new prisons, board President James P. Jones said, legislators ought to consider spending more on prevention.
One way, he said, is to pump extra money into alternative education programs to reach disruptive students who might otherwise drop out or be expelled.
The General Assembly, which meets in regular session in January, appropriated $1.2 million for the current year for such programs. The resolution asked legislators to consider ``significant increased funding'' to help school districts establish alternative programs.
The resolution on criminal background checks was passed primarily with the hope that child molesters or other adults who posed security threats would not be hired and then prey on school children. by CNB