THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 11, 1996 TAG: 9603110047
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Virginia educators and students won big Sunday night when House and Senate negotiators broke the deadlock on the $35 billion state budget that had forced the General Assembly to extend its session.
The agreement provides for a two-year freeze on soaring college tuitions. It calls for about $600 million in new spending on public education over the next two years, including money for teacher raises and the development of new student achievement tests.
Democratic and Republican leaders predicted the measure would sail through House and Senate votes scheduled this afternoon, allowing the legislature to adjourn two days later than planned.
``It looks like an agreement that will send everyone home,'' said House Minority Leader S. Vance Wilkins Jr., R-Amherst.
Gov. George F. Allen hailed the compromise as an ``important step forward in assuring there is accountability in education.''
Allen insisted that any increase in spending for public schools be linked to the creation of new achievement tests. The standardized exams, he said, would serve as a gauge to ensure that additional spending resulted in improved student performances. The tests, he said, also would serve as a standard for comparing individual public schools and school systems across the commonwealth.
Allen had sought $10 million a year to develop a program that would test students five times during their public school career. The budget negotiators appropriated $6 million a year, which will be enough to begin paying for either three or four tests during a student's career.
The governor won a key victory, however, when negotiators agreed not to link funding for the tests to Allen's acceptance of federal Goals 2000 money.
The federal program is designed to help states improve their academic standards. Allen has steadfastly refused to accept about $6 million earmarked for Virginia, concerned that Washington shoestrings would be attached to the cash. Virginia is one of only two states that have rejected the money.
The agreement specifies, however, that the state must enroll in Goals 2000 if 85 of the 139 school boards in Virginia submit petitions supporting an application.
Other key parts of the agreement include:
A total 3.75 percent raise for teachers over the next two years.
A total 6.35 percent raise for state employees and college professors over the next two years.
Creation of a $30 million deal-closing fund for Allen to help the governor recruit new companies to Virginia.
Approval to borrow $163 million to pay for a long list of college building projects.
The budget talks got off to a delayed start when legislative leaders took eight days to resolve a dispute over which four senators should serve as negotiators.
The talks were further delayed by the absence of Hunter B. Andrews, a longtime senator from Hampton and budget czar who was defeated in last fall's election. Andrews' absence created a power vacuum that House and Senate negotiators contentiously tried to fill.
The General Assembly, scheduled to adjourn Saturday, had to postpone leaving for two days while the negotiators struggled to work out their differences.
The logjam began to break late Saturday after three legislative leaders - Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr.; House Speaker Thomas W. Moss Jr., D-Norfolk; and House Majority Leader C. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County - warned the negotiators that the public would not tolerate a lengthy impasse. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo ASSOCIATED PRESS
House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, right, listens to
Appropriations Chairman Earl Dickinson, D-Louisa, as the two
discussed details of the $35 billion budget compromise Sunday in the
House chamber.
Graphic\The Virginia Pilot
State Budget
Total 1996-98 budget: About $35 billion
Allen/House/Senate/Compromise
Public Schools
Teacher salaries
Testing
Higher Education
New Operating Funds
Faculty Salaries
Tuition Hikes
TAG Grants
Trigon Blue Cross Blue Sheld Agreement
Economic Development
Foe complete text, see microfilm
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KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BUDGET GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB