THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 31, 1995 TAG: 9501310311
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Portsmouth schools' Superintendent Richard Trumble is one of the few administrators in the state to endorse Gov. George F. Allen's call for charter school legislation.
While that legislation may be dead for this year, Portsmouth still could be tapped to serve as a laboratory to decide whether the idea is worth pursuing in Virginia.
The House of Delegates Education Committee on Monday upheld a subcommittee recommendation to shelve two Republican-sponsored charter-school bills for this session.
But the committee approved a resolution calling for appointment of a nine-member study commission. It would submit its findings before next year's legislative session.
Several committee members, including chairman J. Paul Councill Jr., D-Franklin, said Monday that they would be glad for Portsmouth to ``pilot'' the concept.
``I want to see Portsmouth come forward with detailed plans on how they would proceed so we can go forward with our study,'' Councill said.
Trumble, who says innovative ways of running public schools are always worth exploring, welcomed the prospect of his city serving as a model for the state.
``I would certainly try to persuade our board of the merits of establishing a pilot project here,'' Trumble said Monday. ``The task, of course, would be finding a group of parents or faculty to undertake it.''
But Portsmouth School Board Chairman J. Thomas Benn III said he still had concerns about access and accountability.
``I don't know how the School Board would react to it,'' Benn said.
Allen administration officials, while preferring to get a charter school law in place, said they'd settle for a study coupled with a pilot project.
But Beverly Sgro, secretary of education, said she would like to see more than one charter school pilot program ``so we can test it in a variety of settings. They can be targeted for certain needs,'' she said, including students with learning disabilities, those considered academically at risk, or gifted children.
Charter-school legislation has attracted widespread opposition from the state's education establishment, including the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and the Virginia School Boards Association.
Critics worry that the schools, already approved in about a dozen other states, would siphon money from existing public schools, cater to conservative special interest groups and contain hidden costs.
Proponents view them as a way to increase parental choice and involvement in the schools, spur innovation and make schools more accountable for academic achievement.
Parents, teachers or others would apply for a charter from local school boards. The applicant, while granted freedom from most local and state regulations, would have to meet specific educational goals or risk losing the charter.
While some legislators have bitterly opposed allowing charter schools in Virginia, Councill acknowledged that the idea has enough support that it won't go away. Allen's legislation could be resurrected on the House floor or in the Senate.
Councill said he hoped a study would help resolve the debate.
``I personally would like to see a charter school tried in Virginia,'' Councill said. ``I think we need something in Virginia to see if we want to go down this path.'' MEMO: Staff writer Vanee Vines contributed to this story.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB