                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996            TAG: 9609140094
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 24   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: Matt Bowers 
DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   63 lines

SCHOOL BULLETIN BOARD

The city's public-school students are performing better overall, particularly in the elementary grades, but still lag behind the median in reading and math in most of the older grades, the School Board was told Thursday at its first meeting of the new school year.

In Virginia's Outcome Accountability Project, the students improved in 1994-95 on 54 percent of 46 indicators of school success, such as drop-out rates, attendance and scores on advanced-placement tests. In the past five years, improvement was seen in 83 percent of the indicators, said Melinda J. Boone, coordinator of pupil personnel and testing.

Boone cautioned that the best predictors of student success are socio-economic background and the educational level of the mother.

Half of Suffolk's students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, while the state average is 31 percent. Fourteen percent of Suffolk's families fall below the federal poverty level - the figure is 8 percent for Virginia overall. Sixty-four percent of Suffolk's adults are high-school graduates, compared to 75 percent statewide.

Another subject that came up was the $6.7 million in federal Goals 2000 education funds that the Virginia Board of Education rejected, and whether it would've helped school programs aimed at improving the various indicators.

``Someone else is spending that tonight,'' Superintendent Joyce M. Trump said.

Also at the meeting, the School Board:

Heard that, as of Thursday, Suffolk's public schools had enrolled 10,657 students, an increase of 200 since the first week of school and 600 more than last year.

Chairman Mark A. Croston noted that last year's enrollment was 500 more than the previous year's. That's an 11.5 percent increase in two years - unmistakable signs of the building boom in the city with which the school system is going to have to keep pace.

Trump told the board to expect more students to register all during the school year than they're used to seeing, because so many residential developments are in various stages of completion.

Received news that just about anyone who juggles a checkbook would like to hear: that the school system finished the last fiscal year with $404,600 leftover in its budget. The explanation from Finance Director Michael K. Brinkley was fairly simple: The system's revenues were higher than expected, and its expenses were lower.

The money goes into a reserve fund for building projects, more good news for a city riding the wave of a student-population boom. Nothing's official, however, until an audit is completed in late October.

And the board already is thinking about the next spending plan, the one for 1997-98. The first public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 12.

Received the timetable for proposed rezoning of the Oakland Elementary School district next year, after completion of its renovation. Public hearings will be held in March, but affected families can give their views anytime.

Heard that the 50-cent increase in the federal minimum-wage, from $4.25 to $4.75 an hour, that takes effect Oct. 1 will cost the school division about $15,000 in pay, mostly for part-time, substitute positions. The board approved the extra expenditure.

Set its November meeting for Nov. 7, not the usual second Thursday of the month, because board members will be attending the Virginia School Boards Association annual conference in Williamsburg.

KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK SCHOOLS by CNB