THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 22, 1997 TAG: 9702220006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 61 lines
Virginia Beach school Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney unveiled his proposed budget Tuesday and the big news is - there is nothing new.
Responding to the financial squeeze being put on schools by the city, and working with an eye on projected revenues for next year, Jenney has proposed an eminently responsible budget. It initiates no new programs and does not expand existing ones. It's the kind of fiscal plan that will keep the schools steady on course toward overall mediocrity but dashes hopes for movement toward excellence.
The budget is disappointing not for what's in but for what isn't. Perhaps the most serious omission from the proposed budget is funding to reduce class sizes in grades K-3. There is near unanimity among educators that the first four years of school are crucial and that smaller class sizes are beneficial. A plan being considered by the School Board would have cost Virginia Beach $227,000, with the state adding $673,000 to help reduce class sizes. The funds would have been used to hire 22 new teachers and would have been money well-spent.
Programs for gifted children also need more funding. Under the proposed budget none of the existing programs - particularly the district's crown jewel at Kemp's Landing - will expand enrollment next year, and a plan to test every first-grader for possible inclusion in the gifted program has been scrapped. That's a shame. While many view money spent on gifted education as elitist, it is precisely the sort of program that prevents parents of bright students from putting their children into private schools and that helps a school division earn a national reputation.
Sadly, the International Baccalaureate program at Princess Anne High School - open to both gifted and other students - will not expand. No new ninth-graders will be included next year, which leaves the future of this prestigious program somewhat in doubt.
Same goes for the math and science magnet program at Ocean Lakes. With no new ninth-graders, parents and students are left to wonder what will become of this new, but widely acclaimed program.
Attention is also needed at the other end of the educational spectrum. The system's night school, Open Campus, serves some of the city's students who face the greatest challenges. Yet the program rated no funding for much-needed child care, another guidance counselor or transportation.
More's the pity. These students are plugging away at a school of last resort. Some work all day and go to school at night. Many are parents. Others are supporting themselves or their families. Almost all are balancing precariously between success and failure. Failing to facilitate the education of these students is unconscionable.
But all is not lost. Now the School Board turns its attention toward the budget. We hope members will resist the urge to posture and grandstand. The board must take a realistic look at what is needed to make necessary improvements to Beach schools, not just hold ground, and include those programs in the budget it sends to City Council.
Beyond the superintendent and School Board, there is a third player in school funding - the citizens of Virginia Beach. Those who agree that school spending is a priority must make their voices heard during the upcoming months.