THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310487
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Telling officials to settle their differences back home, a House committee Tuesday rejected the Virginia Beach City Council's efforts to win oversight of the School Board's finances.
The council had sought a new state law to allow it to force a consolidation of city and School Board financial services. The council believes the board has not moved fast enough to resolve problems that led to a $12.1 million deficit last school year and more financial troubles this year.
The School Board has argued that state help is not needed. Several school officials told the House panel Tuesday that they are willing to merge school and city departments, but not under the ``hammer'' of state legislation.
Earlier in the day, the Senate's General Laws Committee had voted 12-3 in favor of requiring consolidation of the city's and district's finance, payroll, accounting and purchasing departments. Most of the Virginia Beach legislators and every member of the council support the bill.
But the action of the House panel, which rejected the measure 14-6, makes it unlikely that the state will intervene consolidation issue. Because the Senate committee approved the bill, it will come back before the House committee later this session, according to Robert R. Matthias, the city's chief lobbyist, who said he is not optimistic it would fare better then.
The city and School Board do not need the state's permission to merge their departments, but the council could not force consolidation without the state's help.
Council members Louisa M. Strayhorn and Linwood O. Branch III and city Finance Director Patricia A. Phillips traveled to Richmond Tuesday to argue that the school deficit and the board's lackluster support for consolidation were risking the financial stability of the city.
``The point is, we're moving too slowly to make sure this doesn't happen again,'' a frustrated Strayhorn said as she headed back to Hampton Roads.
Branch, who said he was demoralized by the loss, said he sees it as an issue of accountability: the council, which provides 40 percent of the school district's budget through tax dollars, cannot now keep track of how that money is spent. The School Board has no taxing authority of its own.
``I can't look the taxpayer in the eye and say I'm going to raise your taxes but I can't assure you of (the School Board's) accountability,'' he told the House committee.
Three School Board members and two top district officials, who traveled to Richmond to argue against the measure, said the district would be at a disadvantage if a merger were required by the state legislators instead of negotiated between city and school officials.
The consolidation issue is ``best left to parties who are directly involved,'' School Board Chairwoman June T. Kernutt told the House and Senate committees. ``It is important for the city and School Board to be partners.''
The School Board has been working diligently for six months to resolve its financial problems, officials told the committees, and therefore is not jeopardizing the city's financial stability.
Del. Franklin P. Hall, D-Richmond, chairman of the Counties, Cities and Towns Committee, asked Kernutt if she was satisfied that the district's problems were remedied.
``Are you committed to a balanced budget this year?''
``Absolutely,'' Kernutt replied.
After the meeting, Hall said he voted against consolidation because it is none of his business.
``The message is this,'' he said, ``you guys work it out between yourselves, because nobody's going to be happy if we do it.''
His comment was interrupted, however, by School Board members loudly admonishing Strayhorn and Branch for their effort to force consolidation on the council's terms.
``I'll push what's right,'' Board member Tim Jackson told Branch. ``I'm going to push for consolidation, but we're going to do it on terms acceptable to the school district.''
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS by CNB