THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 3, 1994 TAG: 9411010099
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
PARENTS AND TEACHERS at last week's School Board budget hearing came asking for air-conditioning, building renovations and better pay. They were armed with an impressive array of facts: census figures, noise levels, temperature readings and square footage.
By the time the school system's fiscal gurus finish sharpening their budget axes, only a fraction of the millions of dollars on the wish lists will find its way into next year's 1995-96 budget. But nobody can say the presenters didn't do their homework.
In their bid for money to renovate W.H. Taylor Elementary, for instance, PTA members calculated the time and distance for children to go to a basement bathroom - a 9-minute, 1/6-mile round trip. They also measured the noise when kids crowd into the small, low-ceiling cafeteria: more than 10 decibels above city-restricted levels in industrial areas, they said.
``It's equivalent to a hard-rock night club,'' said parent Nell Armstrong.
In making a case for more early childhood classes at Oceanair Elementary, Diane Gibson, a pre-kindergarten teacher at the school, cited census figures showing the number of kids under age 5 living in surrounding neighborhoods. Fifty children are on a waiting list for the school's 4-year-old program, she said.
``If we could begin servicing the large number of pre-schoolers in this small demographic area,'' Gibson said, ``it would be a tremendous step towards making Norfolk Public Schools the best academic and social environment for learning.''
In her plea for air-conditioning at Poplar Halls Elementary, PTA president Machelle Bogue said children sweltered in classrooms that reached 110 degrees - hotter than outdoors. Some kids have gotten sick with heat exhaustion, she said.
If the School Board can't provide funds to create a healthy learning environment, she said, ``you should consider closing down the school.''
``It's been promised to us for several years now,'' Bogue said. ``Parents are tired of hearing maybe.''
In all, 20 people representing six schools, the city's two teachers' unions, neighborhoods and community groups spoke during the approximately 90-minute public hearing. About 100 people attended.
With school funds ever harder to come by in recent years, the process to wring them out of the board has grown increasingly sophisticated during this annual ritual.
``That seems to be the trend - impress with numbers,'' said budget director Forrest R. ``Hap'' White. ``It was really much more sophisticated this year.''
The budget outlook for next fiscal year, while still no frills, is more upbeat than the current year, Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. said.
Projections of student enrollment in the current year, the basis for state funding, are ``right on target,'' Nichols said, meaning the schools should receive all of the $82.4 million in state funds budgeted for the year.
Last year, an unexpected loss of nearly 1,000 students, largely because of military downsizing, cost the schools nearly $2 million in state and federal aid.
In addition, Nichols said he expects savings of about $600,000 because of the board's negotiation of a new custodial management contract. The board also hopes to save money by hiring an energy-management company, Nichols said.
That money, essentially a windfall, might be available to speed up air-conditioning of the 16 Norfolk schools that still lack it. The board hopes to cool Oceanair, Coleman Place and Bay View by 1995 - Poplar Halls might have to continue waiting. The board hopes to air-condition the remaining schools by 1998.
The community budget hearing is held months before the board makes final decisions in the spring to give the public plenty of opportunity and time for suggestions. At the board's November meeting, budget and finance officials will present tallies of the requests; last year they topped $26 million.
Among other speakers last week were:
Marian Flickinger, president of the Norfolk Federation of Teachers: Top priorities include expansion of pre-kindergarten classes, more alternative education programs for students unable to succeed in regular classrooms and employee salary raises that outpace inflation.
Shirley George, vice president of the Education Association of Norfolk: ``Employees are feeling frustrated and increasingly overworked and under appreciated,'' George said. More funds are needed to reduce ``secretarial'' work required of teachers, to buy more textbooks and to reduce class sizes. The association also called for higher cost-of-living raises for employees. Last year, teacher pay increases ranged from 1.8 percent to 3.2 percent.
Cheryl Brennell, PTA vice president at Bay View Elementary: Repeated past pleas for money to renovate the 1922-era school.
Thelma Harrison, chairman of the education committee, Park Place Community Development Corp.: Sought money to build an early childhood center in Park Place.
Colette Hart, parent at Easton Preschool: Sought money for playground equipment and a fence around the school.
Cheryl Chambers, PTA president of Larchmont Elementary: Asked for more school buses if that's what it takes to start primary schools at or before 9 a.m. Classes don't begin at Larchmont until 9:45 a.m. under the current staggered system, developed because of the system's limited number of buses.
Alex Urrutia, PTA president of Ocean View Elementary: Sought money for mobile classrooms as a temporary fix until renovations can be completed to ease crowding. by CNB