THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100498 SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 66 lines
Superintendents of nine Hampton Roads school systems agreed Thursday to seek state funds to study the benefits of forming a regional education cooperative.
Such an organization could save millions in tax dollars and serve as a model for uniting the region politically.
School officials envision pooling resources to increase their buying power and cut costs on a range of services, from purchasing classroom supplies to training teachers.
The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the concept, and on Thursday school officials from the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads reached consensus that the idea should be presented to the General Assembly.
``It offers an opportunity to save money or improve services, and we're being urged to do both of those things by our constituents,'' said Norfolk Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr., who has taken the lead in pushing the proposal.
The group plans to seek at least $75,000 from the General Assembly to study the idea, which would include visits to states where co-ops are in operation, including Georgia, New York and Michigan.
After the study, Nichols said, a report would be produced outlining potential benefits, and the superintendents could decide then whether to form a cooperative.
Nichols and other superintendents said they would probably need the General Assembly to pass legislation enabling them to form a cooperative, in part because they would probably seek state money to help run it.
State Sen. Stanley C. Walker, D-Norfolk, co-chairman of the Finance Committee, and House Speaker Thomas W. Moss Jr. have indicated they will try to find money for a study, Nichols said. Walker said last week that an amendment to the budget bill would be required to fund a study.
Thursday's meeting, at the Chamber of Commerce's Chesapeake office, was attended by superintendents and other school officials from Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and Southampton County. As many as 15 school systems in the region eventually could become involved.
Facing growing demands at a time when local, state and federal money for public education has remained relatively flat, school officials said working together for solutions could result in dividends for schoolchildren and taxpayers.
Nichols said he would like to start by looking at joint purchasing. The idea also might prove invaluable for the critical area of teacher training, especially as new technology moves into schools.
Suffolk Superintendent Joyce H. Trump, for instance, pointed to a lack of funds to train reading teachers; by having to pay only a portion of the costs in a cooperative, however, such training could become affordable.
``It's a classic example of a program that's important to us, but we can't afford to do it on our own,'' Trump said.
Poquoson's superintendent, Raymond E. Vernall, said, ``Small districts obviously will be a winner in this because we don't have any purchasing power.''
The superintendents said the five South Hampton Roads districts already have teamed up to buy some supplies, such as paper products, and that a formal cooperative offers virtually unlimited ways to expand savings.
Officials said the effort could be instructive to local politicians, whose efforts toward regionalism often have deteriorated into territorial squabbles. ILLUSTRATION: [Illustration]
KEYWORDS: EDUCATION REGIONALISM