
DATE: Friday, March 21, 1997                TAG: 9703210013

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL  

TYPE: Letter  

                                            LENGTH:  177 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: * A letter to the editor Friday erroneously stated that Tim Jackson was ``part of the team which allowed $40,000 flagpoles.'' Jackson was not a member of the Virginia Beach School Board when a $42,000 flagpole was planned for a new Beach high school. Furthermore, school officials said at the time that board members were not informed about the expense. Correction published Saturday, March 22, 1997 on page B8 of THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT. * LETTERS [TO THE EDITOR -- THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT]

EDUCATION Numbers don't tell the whole story

When, as a child, I asked for a raise in my allowance, Dad said, ``What for?'' Telling Dad that Freddy got more than I did, and that Tommy got twice as much didn't answer the question.

In his March 12 Another View, Virginia Beach School Board member Tim Jackson shows ``evidence'' that:

Virginia Beach ranks 71st of 133 in per-pupil expenditures. So? What exactly does this tell us?

Chesapeake spends $238 more per child. Again, so what? What extra does Chesapeake get for $238 per pupil?

Fairfax, the only school system larger than Virginia Beach, spends an extra $2,000 per child. Fairfax ranks 11th, Virginia Beach 70th. If we spend an extra $2,000 per child, do we automatically move to a tie for 11th, or does someone actually have to do something besides throw money blindly at a problem?

We spend $742 per student less than the state average. OK, but spent on what?

My Dad didn't care what allowances Freddy and Tommy got. Did they have more chores to do? And did they get straight A's?

Some people in Virginia Beach may still remember a $13 million ``oops'' by the previous School Board. Call me cheap, but I'd like to know what the money's for and not just the budget statistics of the districts with whom we seem to be competing.

John R. Williams Jr.

Virginia Beach, March 12, 1997 More money's not the answer

Tim Jackson's Another View, ``The cold, hard truth about Beach schools'' (March 12), is the latest letter by the ``education lobby'' aping the singular theme that Virginia Beach schools are underfunded. Study after study shows there is no correlation between expenditures and education. Yet that is the education lobby's sole solution to all problems.

Over the years, the expenditure (adjusted for inflation) per pupil has doubled an tripled, and what has been the result? SAT scores are lower. But not to worry, the SAT scores have been ``adjusted'' so a lower score is now higher. The colleges now teach high school remedial courses. I guess the ``old'' system that required you to be literate in order to graduate was demeaning.

Where are the proposals to use limited dollars for core education purposes? Where are the proposals to reduce/shift overhead funding to the classroom? A reduction in the number of guidance counselors, assistant principals, coaches, department heads, curricula heads and other overhead would probably allow for an even lower teacher-to-pupil ratio than that advocated by the education lobbyists at no additional cost.

Michael Galasky

Virginia Beach, March 13, 1997 The ``cold, hard truth,'' indeed

It's extremely difficult for me to take seriously the information expressed in ``The cold, hard truth about Beach schools'' (Another View, March 12) when I consider the writer to be part of the team which allowed $40,000 school flagpoles and $12 million in school-budget overspending in Virginia Beach.

Jerry Butler

Virginia Beach, March 12, 1997 SHELTERS Why not in their back yard?

Betsy Wright's March 15 article, ``Trusting God, risks make good person,'' was well-written and deserves a round of applause.

As a resident of the King's Grant community who is suffering through a battle for a second residential group facility in my neighborhood, her column hit the nail on the head. The ``wonderful'' people proposing a shelter for 196 troubled teens per year do not live nearby and, as Mrs. Wright mentions, are not inconvenienced. I hope that all of the supporters for yet another Seton House being builit in my family's residential area consider the thoughts of Betsy Wright.

I challenge the Seton House board members to seek a mere 9,600-square-foot lot in their neighborhoods. Perhaps they would meet less opposition from their ``good neighbors.''

Sandra Harrelson

Virginia Beach, March 17, 1997 Look in your back yard first

Kudos to Betsy Wright for a very candid look at the moral dilemma of those who are faced with the reality of a facility for troubled youth being located in their neighborhood (``Issues of Faith,'' March 15). Seton House has proposed a second facility for such youths on the property of St. Aidan's Church at the entrance to King's Grant and only blocks from its first facility.

My neighbors and I share Ms. Wright's concerns: We, too, have ``small children, beautiful teen-age daughters, and do not want anything next door that might bring down property values.''

I challenge the board of Seton House, the vestry of St. Aidan's and any City Council member who is contemplating a vote in favor of this proposal to walk in our shoes. Begin looking for a home or lot on your block suitable to house wayward teens. Only then will you have the ethical right to question the objections of my neighbors and me. Of course, that would mean a facility in Crystal Lake, Sea Breeze Farm, Broad Bay Colony. . . .

Dorothy B. Laverdiere

Virginia Beach, March 17, 1997 Helping needy helps us, too

In reference to the March 12 letter, ``Let city care for the needy'': My church, St. Johns United Methodist Church of Norfolk, has taken part in the N.E.S.T. program for the past several years, and we have been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to share with and care for those who need to be helped.

Our neighborhood has gained in richness because of its concern for others. Our ``safety and well-being'' have only increased because of these efforts. The ``magnet'' this program has given us brings joy, love and fellowship with some who might otherwise not have a meal or bed for a cold night.

It would be wonderful if the city, state and nation could do more to help these people, because their resources are so much greater than the churches', but until they do, I consider it a privilege to be able to help this cause.

Jean DeLoatch

Virginia Beach, March 14, 1997 HEALTH Keep children in headlines

Congratulations for putting the ``Report on Children's Health in Hampton Roads'' in the headlines. There has been considerable criticism of the media recently for sensational news such as the O.J. Simpson trials, and for interrupting the State of the Union speech on TV. At the Norfolk Forum's past event, the audience was very vocal in expressing its displeasure with the media to Charlie Rose and his media guests. It was refreshing and encouraging to see that The Virginian-Pilot followed up with an editorial about the health care of children.

As the Senate and Congress struggle to balance the budget, they might well bear in mind that prevention is not only more humane but less costly. If current trends continue, fewer than 50 percent of children will be covered by employment-related health insurance. As the ensuing rise of Medicaid costs occur, more and more states will move toward managed care, and there will be temptation to restrict screenings and other early-intervention services.

Surely, if there ever was a bridge to the 21st century, it is children. We dare not risk failing to act.

Dorothy P. Evans, chair

Child and Family Advocacy Commission

Episcopal Diocese of

Southern Virginia

Portsmouth, March 8, 1997 VIRGINIA BEACH Advisory board lacks racial mix

I read that an advisory board has been set up to oversee the diversity of acts at the amphitheater. An excellent idea. I assume that the board will include a decent racial mix from the entire community. Right?

Unfortunately, that is not right. I am afraid that Mayor Oberndorf bowed to the pressure from the NAACP and established an oversight council that is racially motivated and, therefore, unjust (and illegal?). That she met with the NAACP was appropriate. That she agreed to set up an oversight council made up solely of African Americans, or at least NAACP members, is inappropriate.

Where are the whites on the council, the Hispanics, the Indians? Why should the NAACP have the right to oversee our amphitheater?

I like the idea of getting a more diverse blend of acts in, especially more black acts (I will attend them), but we don't need a racial group telling us what to watch. I trust Cellar Door to do this for me; its decisions will be based on commercial needs, not racial/political ones.

John Koehler

Virginia Beach, March 14, 1997

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