THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603280016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Seizing the offensive in his battle to keep Virginia schools untainted by Goals 2000 money, quarterback-turned-governor George Allen this week released a dozen pages of rules governing handling of the $6.7 million of federal funds available to the state.
The fine print in the plan - which aims at improving the nation's schools through local innovation - is mind-numbing: ``Each State educational agency shall make subgrants, through a competitive process to carry out the authorized activities described in paragraph (4), to local educational agencies (or consortia of such agencies) in accordance with section 308.'' Whew!
``There're not only strings. There's a lot of wire and a lot of rope,'' warned Allen, signaling that he won't stand by idly as local school boards try to circumvent him on the matter.
The recently departed legislature instructed the Allen administration to take the federal money if 85 of the state's 136 school boards ask for it. As staff writer Jon Glass reported this week, many school boards are gearing up to lodge requests. Norfolk's is leading the way.
But Allen made clear that getting the money, which he believes will subject Virginia children to federal education schemes, will not be that simple. He may veto the Goals 2000 portion of the budget or recommend major revision.
Allen's concern is warranted if the federal ``strings'' are incompatible with Virginia's educational goals. But an initial reading suggests that they aren't. Nor, for all the convoluted language, do they seem any more obtuse than regulations Virginia follows each year in applying for millions of federal dollars for education, transportation, environmental and other programs.
For instance, most school boards are expected to create ``a broad-based panel'' of citizens to devise a ``local improvement plan'' for spending the federal money. That's better than having a few bureaucrats spend it without a plan.
No more than 5 percent of the money can be spent on administration, and at least 50 percent must go to schools where there is low achievement or a high percentage of low-income families. Since the point of Goals 2000 is to improve the nation's schools, there's nothing wrong with focusing where the problems are greatest.
Every plan must include a five-point strategy: making sure all students have a fair opportunity to learn; improving teaching and learning; improving management; strengthening parental involvement; and expanding improvements throughout the school district. If there's something subversive here, we're missing it.
Allen and a group of education officials visited Palisades, N.Y., this week for what is being billed as the Second National Education summit. Allen has touted Virginia's laudable efforts to develop standards of learning and a plan for measuring their success.
He should stick to building on those concrete achievements and drop this silly fight over Goals 2000 money that Virginia could put to good use. by CNB