THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 1997 TAG: 9701040029
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 58 lines
The needs of Virginia's public schools and colleges are growing faster than state revenues.
Construction demands for K-12 exceed available dollars by some $2 billion.
Disparity between equipment and instruction available to children in the state's wealthiest and poorest localities remains striking.
State colleges are still racing to catch up from revenue losses earlier in the decade.
Against these needs, Gov. George Allen, the men who hope to succeed him, and various lawmakers have proposed a variety of Band-Aid solutions.
Almost everyone wants to dedicate the state Literary Fund to school construction. That was the fund's purpose, before officials started raiding it to help balance the budget in the early 1990s. It is correct to return the fund to its original use.
Beyond that, there are (1) proposals to let localities borrow more for construction, (2) plans in Allen's proposed 1997 budget revisions to increase educational spending by about $36 million and (3) suggestions for a variety of low-budget improvements ranging from increased testing to creation of community-college scholarships.
All this is useful, but it does not add up to the creation or continuation of a first-rate educational system. As college leaders made clear in reaction to Allen's budget proposals, their request for some $40 million in new money for faculty raises and student financial aid was rewarded with nada.
``I think the governor had a list of priorities that no one could quarrel with, but they didn't include higher education,'' responded a glum Timothy Sullivan, president of the College of William and Mary.
Adding insult to injury, several universities found that the budget proposal did not even include money they thought they'd been promised.
Norfolk State, for instance, is authorized to buy sprinklers for high-rise dorms that don't have such equipment. But the authorization doesn't come with cash attached. The school will have to raise student fees or donations to cover the cost.
When the General Assembly came up with some $400 million in new money for colleges last year, advocates were elated. It appeared that after several years of decline, in which Virginia's per-student investment in higher education had slipped to one of the lowest in the nation, funding was turning around.
But even with the infusion of funds, Virginia remains in the bottom 10 states in per-student investment. Now it appears that last year's investment was a one-year fluke, not the start of a trend.
In preparing his budget, it is good that Governor Allen did not push for a tax cut at a time of such pressing need. It remains regrettable that he is unwilling to accept $14.8 million in Goals 2000 educational funds. But even that amount would be only a modest addition to state coffers.
Politicians cannot grow money on trees. They can only get it from taxpayers. The ``T'' word is viewed by many as politically untenable after several years of overselling the idea that state government is bloated. But there are few other choices. If Virginians want a quality educational system, there is no alternative but to pay for it.