THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510060164
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Aleta Payne
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
TEST REIMBURSEMENT
A larger number of Virginia Beach students are taking and doing well on the Advanced Placement test, which allows students to earn college credit for classes they take in high school. And that's created a problem for the cash-strapped school district.
The division pledged to reimburse the parents of students who score high enough on the test to qualify for repayment. The number of those students increased by more than 200 since last year, and the tests cost almost $80 per subject.
Although School Board members praised the goal of the program Tuesday at their meeting, they questioned whether they can afford to continue the effort in light of the $7.4 million budget shortfall for the past fiscal year and concerns that this year's budget will need adjusting. School officials told the board that the number of students taking the test and scoring well is likely to increase.
Board members indicated that they would still pay for high-scoring students who take the test in the spring but that they would like to revisit the issue for future years.
NOT COUNCIL'S FAULT
Board member Joseph D. Taylor said Tuesday he was concerned that statements by some on the board about the City Council's responsibility in the budget crisis might be viewed as the opinion of all board members. That is not the case, he said.
``I don't think we should try to implicate others for this particular problem,'' he said. ``Council has nothing to do with this problem. Let's not point fingers at other people. Let's fix our own problems.''
The board members went on to agree that Chairwoman June T. Kernutt officially speaks for the board as a whole, but some said that did not preclude individual board members from speaking for themselves.
AUDIT QUESTIONS
Kernutt collected questions board members want answered by external auditors charged by the city with looking into the district's budget shortfall. Some members of the board expressed concern that the accountants, who are expanding their regular annual review of the city's books, would not look back far enough to uncover the roots of the crisis.
The school division is being asked to come up with $30,000 for the expansion of the audit to determine whether the financial statements for the School Board's funds are fairly stated and to report on specific areas of overexpenditure and the circumstances that led to the debt. Additional questions will likely increase that cost.
``Do we want to know the answers to these questions or do we want to answer the questions we can afford?'' board member Elsie M. Barnes asked at one point.
The decision was made to have a staff member sit down with the firm conducting the audit to discuss questions and cost. That staff representative will be the new internal auditor, Victoria L. Lewis, who came to the division in September after working as the senior auditor in the Norfolk Public Schools.
The Beach schools have been without an auditor since Kevin Jones quit the job last April.
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH
Board members agreed to meet with their search firm in late October to discuss the candidates in the running to become permanent successor to former superintendent Sidney L. Faucette.
In a memo from the search firm, Charlotte-based Sockwell & Associates, the board learned that 27 people have applied for the job.
The group is ethnically and geographically diverse and includes both men and women. More applications are expected before the Oct. 16 deadline.
LEGAL SERVICES
Board member Tim Jackson raised more concerns Tuesday about the amount being spent on legal services. The board transferred $75,000 into an account for legal fees in September when that line item was almost emptied two months into the fiscal year.
School officials did a survey of other districts throughout the state and nation to see how they handle their legal services. Answers ranged from a staff attorney to hiring private outside lawyers. In Virginia Beach, a lawyer from the city attorney's office serves the board in many issues, but outside legal staff also is frequently called in. The city attorney's office is paid about $60,000 for services it provides to the school division.
While Jackson said he's been pleased with the work done by the city attorney's staff, he had concerns about the amount of money overall being spent on legal services. Board member Robert Hall countered that the city attorney's office has provided good services at a bargain rate.
``To use the old cliche,'' Hall said, ``if it's not broke, don't try to fix it.''
``It's broke in the terms of the dollar amounts we spend,'' replied Jackson.
He suggested the school division consider other avenues to contain costs.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB