THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504160050
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
Nancy S. Jacobs, 49, doesn't know much about the money debate raging between city and school officials these days.
She just knows that her sixth-grade son, who has been identified as one of the city's brightest children, is not getting what he needs in school. She said his only truly challenging class is advanced math. Not enough other programs stretch his mind. His passion for learning, turned on in elementary school, is slowly waning.
``I don't want my child to lose his motivation in these three years'' of middle school, Jacobs said. ``And I don't want to see any other child lose it either.''
New programs for gifted children, like Jacobs' son, have joined an already long list of School Board priorities, including helping low achievers, dealing with disruptive students, bolstering job-training programs and relieving severely crowded schools.
The goals are ambitious, and mini-debates unfold about the best way to achieve each.
But the biggest dilemma right now is money. City officials have recommended spending less in 1995-96 than the School Board wants to spend. The City Council also is considering a construction budget that is $167.5 million less over the next six years than the board's request.
However, the city manager's proposed 1995-96 budget for schools is $360.7 million. The city's proposed share is $145.8 million - $11.3 million, or 8 percent, higher than this year's.
``I really don't think it's that big of a conflict,'' said City Manager James K. Spore. ``In my budget we recommended funding the schools at 99 percent of their requested amount in the operating budget. That is more than any other department or agency in this city by far. So I actually thought we had done a pretty good job of meeting their needs.
``Where we had to make cuts, we used the board's priorities and really thought we'd put together a pretty successful package.''
The issue, said E. Dean Block, city director of management and budget, is whether the city can afford the School Board's new desires. The city's budget emphasizes holding the line at programs already under way.
``To continue to add major new programs of spending, particularly in a situation in which the economic future of the city still is an area of concern ``Obviously we're not per se opposed to such things, but we cannot afford them at this time. And we should not be entering into such long-term commitments until we address the priorities we've already set.''
School officials say their wish list is so long because the city traditionally has underfunded education. In 1993-94, the last year for which state data is available, Virginia Beach ranked third among South Hampton Roads school districts when it came to per-pupil local spending for education, even though the resort city had by far the highest tax base.
``To use the old expression, we've done so much with so little for so long, they expect us to do a whole lot with nothing,'' said School Board member Robert W. Hall. ``It just kind of bugs me.''
Mordecai L. Smith, the school system's chief financial officer, said the school system needs fresh programs. ``We just can't sit still,'' he said. ``We've got kids out there that need to be challenged.''
Bruce Biehl, a principal at Bayside Middle School, said that means spending on new programs for all children.
``One of the guiding themes of the Virginia Beach school system is that we want to be proactive on everything, we want to be on the cutting edge,'' he said. ``We have to do that, whether it's for gifted kids or at-risk kids or technology.''
If the City Council approves the School Board's budget, Biehl said, it would prove to educators that others in the city place the same value on schools, and trust the school system to use the money wisely for good programs.
One of the underlying difficulties in the recent budget debate, however, has been lack of trust. City officials have questioned the spending decisions of Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette and the School Board.
There has been criticism, for example, of the board's proposal to purchase Celebration Station, a shopping mall on Virginia Beach Boulevard that has been rented and used for administrative offices. The board wants to use space there for one of the two gifted magnet schools.
Some city officials believe the nearly $16 million needed to buy and renovate the building could be better spent on relieving crowding at schools or other priorities.
Spore also questioned the board's use of money in recent years for building new schools and adding onto old ones, considering that the number of portable classrooms has increased from 355 in 1993-94 to 375 this year.
In a memo to Spore, Faucette said the increase in portables is due to a combination of proposed cuts in the budget for new schools, enrollment growth and efforts to reduce class sizes. Faucette promised a full report to the city about the portable classroom situation.
Despite the criticisms, however, Faucette wrote in his letter that he believes the school system is doing a good job.
``I am extremely proud of the education provided the children of Virginia Beach by principals, teachers, and their support staff. Our students are first class and their parents should be very proud.''
Faucette and School Board members will meet with the City Council Tuesday morning to discuss the budget. That night, Faucette and his staff are scheduled to provide the board with more details about proposed programs that would help children like Jacob's son.
Jacobs said that whatever the outcome, she hopes the board will find some way to pay for programs for bright children.
``I just know that they need to fill this need, one way or another,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphics
WHAT AREA CITIES SPENT IN 1993-94 PER STUDENT:
SOURCE: State Department of Education, Superintendent's Annual
Report for Virginia
HOW TO TRACK THE BUDGET
TWO VISIONS FOR BEACH SCHOOLS
[For complete graphics, please see microfilm]
by CNB