THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512210243
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Deficit repayment plan
The School Board once again tackled a repayment plan to reimburse the city for covering a $12.1 million district shortfall at the end of the last fiscal year. On a 7-3 vote, the board members approved a reconciliation agreement slightly different than one they'd voted on in November but City Council later deemed unacceptable.
Board members Robert Hall, Ferdinand Tolentino and Ulysses Van Spiva voted against the plan. Tim Jackson arrived after the vote was taken.
According to the agreement, the school district will make every effort to repay the money by June 30, 2000. Money may come from several sources including the sale of surplus school property, savings from completed capital projects and money left over at the end of the fiscal year from the district's operating budget.
Traditionally, much of the money would be refunded to the city anyhow and then returned to the school district for other projects.
Still, the agreement did not sit well with Spiva who said the school system was getting no credit for millions of dollars returned to the city in past years.
``I feel very strongly again if we approve this today we will probably be signing away some responsibility we shouldn't be signing away,'' Spiva said.
Spiva and other critics have said the agreement along with calls for consolidating some school and City Council financial services are an attempt by city leaders to take over the school district.
Other board members disagreed Tuesday, saying the district would be getting credit for money that would have been returned to the city anyhow. They noted the plan had been reviewed by the district's administration and attorney.
Summer school tuition
The board has approved a summer school tuition plan for summer 1996. The plan includes a sliding scale so that some students will attend for free or at a reduced rate based on their family income.
Last summer, the board was criticized for adopting fees that some in the community said precluded needy kids from getting classes because of cost.
Summer school will be free for elementary students in special education or those taking remedial or English as a Second Language courses. Middle school students repeating or taking a new class will pay $75 per course. High schoolers will pay $95 for semester courses and $145 for yearlong courses.
The cost for ``self-supporting programs,'' including gifted classes, band and orchestra, range from $35 to $162.50.
Even with the fees, the district will have to cover about $900,000 in summer school costs. by CNB