THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160367
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
Like the city's five other magnet schools, Douglass Park Elementary could lose its $30,000 annual stipend next year.
In the past, that money paid for things like project supplies, special experiments and the cost of bringing in experts to work with students - all of which has made the school's Earth and space program one of the most attractive magnets in the district.
``I think a lot of the thrills (for students), not all of them but a lot of them, would have to be cut,'' said fourth-grade teacher Vanessa Hinton. ``All of those things serve as a powerful motivation, a tool to get students in the right direction.''
Hers is only one voice lamenting the district's financial squeeze.
In his proposed day-to-day spending plan for the 1995-96 school year, Superintendent Richard D. Trumble called for cuts in other areas as well:
Except for work at S.H. Clarke, elementary school renovation projects would be put on hold.
Money for new or replacement teaching equipment would be cut 77 percent.
At least 22 administrators could be reassigned to vacant teaching positions or jobs with new duties.
Last week, Trumble presented the School Board with a dismal financial outlook for a district struggling to meet needs in Virginia's second-poorest city. The board will adopt a budget tonight. City Council plans to approve the school budget by April 25.
Federal dollars dipped about 17 percent from last school year to this, and are likely to decrease by 25 percent more in 1995-96. Extra state money allows the district to get by, but the money comes with strings attached.
Trumble's $86.2 million operating budget assumes the city will chip in the same $25.2 million it offered for the current fiscal year. However, board members repeatedly have said that city schools can't make do with the money they've been given. The board may decide to request more help from City Hall.
``If we never ask for more money than we think they're going to give us . . said at last week's work session.
Residents interviewed this week seemed most concerned about schools crumbling with age.
``What worries me more than anything are the physical plants,'' said community leader Elizabeth Psimas. ``We just built one school and we're about to build another, and I'm not sure either was necessary,'' she said, referring to 3-year-old Churchland High and plans to build a new I.C. Norcom High. ``The basic conditions in a lot of the schools still aren't where they should be.''
The outcome is easy to predict when maintenance work is postponed and money for magnet and other special programs is scaled back, said PTA activist Vina Falzone.
``It's harder for kids to have opportunities to advance and be successful when you don't put more resources into magnet programs, after-school programs, vocational programs, things like that,'' she said. ``When those things aren't in place at the level they should be, kids drop out.''
Or more parents will opt to enroll their kids in private schools, Psimas said.
Few residents said they would support a tax increase for education. Like businessman and developer Maury Cooke, however, some said they might consider it.
``I am willing to pay more for education, provided that it's re-engineered'' so central office administrators and other officials outside the classroom work more closely with parents and students, Cooke said.
Councilman Bernard D. Griffin said he hadn't seen Trumble's proposed budget. But he said the situation was clear. ``They're getting behind by two and we're giving them one. . . . As of yet, we haven't done anything about that.''
Whether that will change soon is unknown. Griffin, a former board chairman, recalled two recent occasions - in fiscal years 1992 and 1993 - when the district returned a total of $4 million to city coffers to relieve previous cash crunches at City Hall.
The district faces many challenges.
Enrollment is on the decline, but the number of students in costly special-education programs has increased by an average of 100 annually since 1986. Maintenance needs, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, continue to go unmet.
In 1993-94, the average salary for city teachers, $31,042, was the second-lowest in South Hampton Roads, after Suffolk.
In 1990-91, the district's operating budget was 32.4 percent of the city's general fund. This school year, the figure is about 29 percent.
``I think we're at the point where we all have to start telling a lot of people in this city that the choice is either a little more money or a little less school system,'' Trumble said.
Carolyn Smith, president of the Portsmouth Education Association, agreed.
``Unless the city and state buy into education as a whole, we're just stuck on hold,'' she said. ``In the long run, the kids are going to suffer.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
POSSIBLE CUTS
Some of the cuts Superintendent Richard D. Trumble recommended to
balance the proposed 1995-1996 operating budget:
Delaying elementary school renovation projects - except for work
at S.H. Clarke, now being converted into an elementary school.
Cutting by 77 percent money for new or replacement teaching
equipment.
Eliminating the $30,000 annual stipend for each of the city's six
magnet programs. Park View Elementary's Montessori program would not
be expanded to third grade.
Limiting employee raises to 2 percent. The district wouldn't
cover any increase in employees' health insurance premiums.
Reassigning at least 22 administrators to vacant teaching
positions or other jobs with new duties. (Trumble also may squeeze
department budgets for the rest of this school year to come up with
more money to buy equipment, library materials and math books for
1995-96.)
Repaying a Virginia Retirement System loan in 30 years instead of
20, adding $6.9 million to the bill.
The School Board meets at 7 tonight in City Council chambers.
by CNB