
DATE: Monday, April 7, 1997                 TAG: 9704070044

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  154 lines

BUDGET PUTS SCHOOL WORK ON HOLD A REFERENDUM IN 1998 COULD MEAN FURTHER DELAYS.

Liz Figari always knew that renovations to W.T. Cooke Elementary School would come too late for her third-grade daughter, Lauren, to enjoy. But she supported changes so that future classes would not have to meet in stairwells, as Lauren's enrichment class does, and so that students and teachers would have a building that met their needs.

Now it appears that work on Cooke could be delayed so long that few of the current students will be around when it is completed. Under the proposed capital budget presented by city staff last Tuesday, there is no money for the next stage of work on Cooke, the Beach's oldest school. Although founded in 1906, most of the current building is 40 to 50 years old.

Instead, city officials have recommended that funding for the renovations and modernization of the city's eight oldest elementary schools be put before the voters in a referendum in November 1998, a move that would bring progress on the project to a standstill for 18 months.

Not surprisingly, Figari wasn't happy with the news.

``I'm really disappointed,'' she said. ``There are so many schools that have gotten renovations that weren't as old as my school. It makes me angry. I would love a soccer field or some of the other things (the city is planning), but I think our children's education is more important.''

While much of the heated discussion in recent months has focused on the differences between city and education leaders over the school division's operating budget - the funds used to pay salaries, buy supplies and basically keep the schools running - a new battle is likely over the city's proposal for capital funding - the money used toconstruct, fix or expand buildings.

The proposed capital budget citywide for next year is the smallest it has been since 1991 as officials work to stay within the council's guidelines on city debt. Municipal leaders have called for a ``pause'' on several capital projects affecting agencies in addition to the schools. Officials said they considered the district's priorities in making recommendations.

``It is certain there will be many disappointments when the capital budget is reviewed, including the allocation to the schools,'' City Manager James K. Spore said in his cover letter on the staff recommendations. ``We have done the best that can be done under the circumstances.''

Spore suggested that the district use its anticipated surplus at the end of this fiscal year, estimated to be from $12 million to $20 million, to address ``their capital budget concerns.''

Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney has said there are already many places that money could be used, including a special reserve account that the division could turn to in tough economic times.

While some of the surplus could be used for capital projects, Jenney said, ``I don't think it's wise, I don't think it's prudent. That's not the mechanism'' for funding major capital projects.

For years, the school division neglected its older buildings, focusing on new construction for growth. Almost 60 percent of the schools in the district are 25 or more years old. The division is in the early stages of its first attempt at a comprehensive, strategic approach to caring for its oldest facilities.

Now the city's proposal would mean further delaying needed maintenance in key areas. And the cost of that wait will be more than the time lost as problems that range from cockroach infestations to overloaded electrical systems worsen, school administrators say.

``The longer you defer major maintenance on older buildings, the more expensive it gets,'' said Anthony Arnold of the school division's Office of Facilities Planning and Construction.

In total, city staff has suggested the division receive about $14.2 million less than the $34.7 million that was requested by school leaders for 1997-98. Some of the projects affected include:

Cooke modernization: Cooke, which is on the Oceanfront, and the city's seven other oldest elementary schools have been going through a comprehensive study during the past year to determine what work needs to be done to renovate them and prepare them for the next century. While plans are for all of the older schools to be modernized, many of the needs at Cooke were so obvious that it had been pushed to the front of the study. The division had requested $600,000 to begin design work on the renovation for next year. City staff did not include it in their proposal but recommended a referendum be held for $40 million in November 1998 to fund the renovation work at the schools. That would delay the next step for Cooke for at least a year to 18 months. And, since the studies at the schools are not complete, district officials say they don't know if the $40 million is even accurate.

Modernization phase II: Study of the next eight oldest elementary schools would have started next year at a cost of $400,000. The city's proposal does not include funding for this project.

Renovations: Funding was requested for a number of different projects tied to repairs ranging from roofs to grounds to lockers. Under the project that would have replaced and repaired roofs, $6.9 million was requested by the schools for next year while $1.5 million was proposed by the city. Under the project for heating, ventilation and air conditioning repair, $1.9 million was requested for next year; $927,500 was proposed. Under a project that would have addressed lockers, asbestos abatement and other random repairs, the schools requested $1.9 million for next year; the city's proposal includes nothing.

Seatack replacement site: As part of an effort to keep Oceana Naval Air Station open three years ago, the city agreed to move Linkhorn Park and Seatack Elementary schools out of the crash zone of planes going in and out of the base. Ground was broken recently on the new Linkhorn Park campus, for which most of the funding has already been appropriated. The school division had requested almost $7.9 million for next year for the Seatack project; the city is proposing $4.4 million. The difference in funding will delay the project at least a year, school officials said. And it will likely be politically unpopular.

Some in the community have expressed concerns because the Seatack project has lagged behind Linkhorn Park. Seatack serves some of the city's most economically disadvantaged students. About 90 percent of the enrollment receives free or reduced lunch. Even before the recommendation, some in the community already questioned why the project lags behind Linkhorn Park, which serves a less ethnically diverse and more economically stable community.

High School 2001: The high school, scheduled to be built on part of the Lake Ridge property off Princess Anne Road near the GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater, was scheduled to open in 2001. Although funding for next year remains on track, the city has proposed delaying funding in later years so that the school would not open until 2002. Crowding at Salem, Kellam and Tallwood high schools would result because of the delay, Arnold said.

Arnold worried that not only will existing problems worsen during the delay, but costs will go up because of inflation. School Board members have asked for a more comprehensive approach to building repairs so that money is not spent on patching problems here and there only to have that work torn out for major renovations later. This plan tried to look at the long-range picture, Arnold said.

``It is frustrating when you put together a plan and it doesn't get funded anywhere near where it needs to be,'' he said.

Last year, a wooden structural beam broke in the ceiling of Louise Luxford Elementary School over a classroom of fifth-graders. The beam was repaired and the school was ultimately reroofed. But district officials worry that problems like the one at Luxford, which was in the group of eight old schools that is being studied this year, will become more frequent.

Some residents, meanwhile, look at projects the city has found money to fund - such as a soccer stadium and golf course - and wonder why it appears the schools are losing out.

``We're spending a lot of money on sports and entertainment,'' said Sandra Smith-Jones, president of the Beach chapter of the NAACP. ``But it seems like we're putting education on the back burner.'' ILLUSTRATION: WHAT HAPPENED: Under the proposed capital budget for

Beach schools, there is no money for the next stage of work to

modernize W.T. Cooke Elementary, built in 1906. The budget is the

smallest it's been since 1991, affecting projects that include

renovating schools, the Seatack replacement site and High School

2001.

RECOMMENDATIONS: City officials recommend holding a referendum for

$40 million in 1998 to let voters decide on funding for modernizing

eight of the oldest Beach schools. School Board members have asked

for a more strategic approach to building repairs, so that the

long-range picture is considered.

[Color Photo]

D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/File photo