THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409300544
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
With millions of dollars in federal aid at stake, Virginia's Board of Education on Thursday inched closer to buying into eight national goals to improve America's public schools.
After grilling U.S. Department of Education officials on Goals 2000, a majority of board members said they favored the national plan or were leaning that way.
``I think it's a wonderful opportunity to get a financial boost that will help us move forward in a direction we're already headed,'' said Darrel L. Mason, board vice president.
The state would be eligible for $14.1 million in federal money over two years - with promises of more to come - by developing a plan showing how it intended to meet the goals, including ways to improve academic performance, increase parental involvement and make schools safer.
Most of the money would be passed on to local school districts and could be used for such things as teacher training, computer equipment and curriculum development.
Suspicions about the federal government's ultimate role in the process, however, has made some Virginian politicians, including conservative Republican Gov. George Allen, wary of accepting the offer. ``It's an issue of trust,'' said state Superintendent of Public Instruction William C. Bosher Jr., who has cautioned board members to move slowly on the issue.
But Michael Cohen, senior adviser to U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley, said the federal government has no interest in running local boards of education.
To get the money, Cohen said, the only requirement is that states involve the public in developing a plan that reflects a commitment to the goals. There would be no new federal rules to meet, no dictates on how the Goals 2000 money could be spent, no surprises, he said.
In fact, Cohen said, Riley plans to allow some states to waive existing regulations to give them freedom to experiment with non-traditional ideas to boost student achievement.
If Virginia chooses not to participate, the action will not jeopardize the state's access to other educational funds it now receives, said Tom Payzant, assistant U.S. education secretary for elementary and secondary education.
To date, Cohen said, 39 states have applied for the Goals 2000 money, and 31 have received the funds. Virginia has until June to decide whether to participate.
Allen, with his appointment last May of the Governor's Commission on Champion School, already has set Virginia on a course of reform. The work of that panel, Cohen said, could form the nucleus of Virginia's plan under Goals 2000.
For board members already inclined to support the federal goals, Cohen's reassurances clinched them. At least five of the nine board members indicated they were willing to become a partner with the federal government.
``The doubts I had seem to be dispelled,'' said board president James P. Jones.
``From what I know about it and what I heard today, Virginia has everything to gain and nothing to lose by participating,'' said board member Alan L. Wurtzel.
Rob S. Jones, president of the Virginia Education Association and a member of the Commission on Champion Schools, said he wondered what took board members so long to come around.
``I think there's been a lot of political posturing, and the only ones to lose are our children,'' Jones said.
But others remain wary, including Kerri Vailati, president of Concerned Citizens of Hampton Roads and also a commission member.
``The intrusion bothers me,'' Vailati said. ``We see so many things coming down from the federal government that we have no control over. I'm not for it at this point.''
Even if the state board votes to accept the federal money, Allen could veto the action, Jones said. At next month's meeting, Bosher plans to present the board with prominent critics of Goals 2000 to even out the debate.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION by CNB