THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504270345
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB AND ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
The City Council is considering increasing its oversight of the school district by tightening the way it hands over cash.
For the past two years, the council has given the School Board well over $300 million per year with no strings attached. It also provided large construction budgets with a lot of spending flexibility.
But concerns over the handling of several school projects have led the council to re-examine its hands-off approach.
Council members have been upset, for example, that nearly $5 million spent on renovations to First Colonial High School has not solved that school's problems. They also are concerned that money set aside for expanding city schools to reduce the number of portable classrooms is not going as far as they thought.
Schools Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette has said that First Colonial's renovation last year was a problem. The project was finished well behind schedule, and some items remain uncompleted, such as a home economics class that was only partially renovated.
School officials have said that the money set aside for expanding city schools will help only 13 buildings, not the 15 or 16 originally anticipated. They said that's because construction costs were higher than expected, and the scope of some projects was increased or changed. School officials, for example, were required to add media centers to the elementary schools on their projects list to comply with a state law they did not realize existed.
Anthony L. Arnold, the school system's director of facilities planning and construction, said that a group of expansion projects still in the works will reduce portable classrooms when completed.
``We've got 11 schools under construction right now, and we've said they were going to eliminate roughly 120 to 125 portables when they're done,'' Arnold said.
But several council members said at a budget workshop this week that they would like greater assurances that the district is building the additions school officials and parents say they need. To do that, the council could allocate money for those additions by school, instead of as a lump sum which has allowed the district to move money from one school project to another.
To take even more control, the council could give the school district its operating funds in four distinct categories, instead of in a lump sum. The district would then have less flexibility to move money to address changing priorities.
``We're going to discuss the options,'' Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said Tuesday. ``I do think on the (construction budget) that it seems to be the opinion of council that we need to at least earmark the projects that we are expecting the School Board to spend the money on, like First Colonial, Kellam (High School) and Kingston (Elementary School).''
Council member Louisa M. Strayhorn, a former School Board member, said during a council workshop that she would rather increase council oversight through other methods than limiting the board's flexibility. She did not elaborate on those other methods.
Council member Linwood O. Branch III said the council should spell out how the budget for school additions can be spent.
Arnold said that limiting the school system's spending flexibility could hamper projects in the future.
A lump-sum allocation ``just makes more sense,'' he said. ``It just provides you flexibility, especially if you've got 10 or 12 reroofing projects going on, and you have them lumped into one funding source, you have flexibility in how you bid them. A lot of times you can package them together and you can see some savings.
``Same thing with the additions projects.''
Arnold said that if council makes allocations more specific, school officials would have to ask council's permission to alter project costs in even the slightest way.
The council has no direct authority over the School Board, except by limiting the amount of money it provides. The school district does not have its own taxing power and so is dependent on the city for much of its funding.
That relationship creates an annual budget conflict between the city and the school district.
This year's dispute has been particularly rancorous, although School Board and council members made peace overtures at a meeting last week. At that meeting, school officials promised the city they would provide detailed financial information on the status of construction projects like those at First Colonial and Kellam. by CNB