THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 19, 1995 TAG: 9507190408
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
The city's neediest students will continue to receive scholarships to attend summer school but will not be granted fee waivers, a divided School Board decided Tuesday night.
On a 6-5 vote, the board turned down a proposal by member Tim Jackson that would have waived the cost of summer classes for students receiving free and reduced lunches or Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The change would have been primarily a semantic one aimed at easing the concerns of some poor parents about obtaining scholarships for their children.
The issue first arose last month when some parents attempted to enroll their children in summer school expecting to have their fees waived. Board members had voted earlier this year to charge fees for most classes in an effort to make summer school self-supporting. They were assured at that time that no child would be turned away because of an inability to pay.
Not all parents were offered complete scholarships, however, and some were told that the school their child would attend was out of scholarship money. In such cases, school officials say, the parents should have been referred to the district office, where provisions were being made to offer additional scholarship money or payment plans. Still, some parents said the cost was beyond their resources.
Before Jackson made his motion, interim superintendent James Pughsley presented a report to the board on the number of children in the district attending summer school and the number receiving financial assistance. The latter figure had more than doubled over last year, from 136 to 353. He also provided them with information on other districts' summer school programs, all of which are fee-based for most classes.
Jackson questioned whether there was a difference between a scholarship and a fee waiver other than the way they were perceived. He also asked whether telling the families of students who receive free and reduced lunch or AFDC that their fees were waived would amount to a change from existing policy.
``In my mind no,'' said Pughsley. ``It's basically the same.''
Still, other board members raised several concerns about Jackson's proposal. Vice Chairman Linn Felt expressed concern that there was still confusion over summer school and the fee policy and asked for an additional report from the administration. Pughsley said it would be provided. by CNB