DATE: Sunday, October 26, 1997              TAG: 9710240966

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: FOCUS: ELECTION '97

                                            LENGTH:  283 lines

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

[GILMORE:]

Parents in growing numbers across Virginia have increasingly come to believe that the public schools are falling short in meeting the needs of their children, and in many cases, failing even to provide safe, stable environments for children to learn.

Virginia must continue to lead the way in creating a safe educational environment of the highest quality with standards that are second to none in the core subjects of math, science, English and history. Just as students are held accountable for their performance, so too must each public school be held accountable for its performance in meeting the needs of its students.

Large class sizes and the growing inability of teachers to offer the individual attention students need has become the single most important impediment to learning in our schools, particularly in the critical elementary years when students' learning habits are formed.

Likewise, Virginia's public schools must be safe, so that teachers can devote themselves to teaching without distraction and students can learn in an environment that is not constantly being disrupted.

- James S. Gilmore III

[BEYER:]

Education is my top priority. As a businessman and a father, I know education is the most critical investment Virginia will make in the years to come. As lieutenant governor, I worked for safer classrooms, high academic standards, reduced class sizes, expanded family literacy and affordable college education. As governor, I will continue to work to make Virginia's schools the best in the nation and provide college scholarships for 100,000 new students.

To improve Virginia's schools, we must demand accountability from our students and our teachers. We will bring an end to social promotion. Children should master the academic basics before moving on to the next grade. Teachers will be held to high professional standards and should earn salaries equal to the national average. For our youngest students, we will reduce class sizes, stress reading fundamentals and bring technology to the classroom. I will ensure that all of Virginia's children start school ready to learn by providing pre-school opportunities for at-risk 4-year-olds.

Education is a life-long endeavor. Through InVEST (Invest Now for Excellence Scholarship for Tuition), I will make higher education at Virginia's community colleges and colleges and universities possible for 100,000 more Virginia high school students. I will also provide assistance to help more Virginians earn their General Equivalency Diplomas.

- Donald S. Beyer Jr.

TALKING WITH THE CANDIDATES

1. What's the single biggest problem with public schools and how would you fix it?

BEYER'S ANSWER:

Safety and accountability. No child or teacher should ever be afraid to enter any classroom. I pushed for local school boards to require each school to conduct a yearly, comprehensive assessment of school safety and I led the effort to give teachers the authority to remove disruptive students from the classroom. All students must be held accountable for knowing the basics. Students who need help to meet those standards should receive the extra help they need to meet the high academic standards we set.

GILMORE'S ANSWER:

The biggest problem in public education is that class sizes are too large. Large classes limit the individualized attention students receive and make it more difficult for teachers to keep discipline in the classroom. I will hire 4,000 new elementary teachers to reduce class size and provide additional remedial instruction for students who require additional assistance. This amounts to an average of five new teachers in every elementary school in Virginia. Reducing class size will improve quality and help ensure that our children receive the education they deserve.

2. Which of these ideas would you entertain seriously to improve the quality of our teachers? Abolition or substantial reform of teacher tenure? Improved teacher education at the college level? Merit pay? Changing the certification process?

BEYER'S ANSWER:

Teacher tenure? We don't have tenure in Virginia. I do support retention of the current continuing contracts, which support fair hiring, retention and termination procedures for teachers.

Improved teacher education? Yes. This session we passed improved technology standards for teachers. We need to continue to improve teacher education so that all teachers are properly licensed and can effectively teach to the high standards our children need and deserve.

Merit pay? I support using financial incentives to encourage teachers to take additional responsibilities for mentoring new teachers, obtaining additional training or working towards an advanced degree.

Certification process? Yes. We need the highest standards for licensing and certification of teachers. I believe Virginia's teachers should be treated as professionals. My goal to pay teachers the national average goes hand in hand with my plan to develop a professional standards board for teacher education, licensing and professional development.

GILMORE'S ANSWER:

My wife, Roxane, is a certified teacher, and I have learned much from her experience. The Allen-Gilmore administration's education reforms include Standards of Learning that are a model for states across the nation, Standards of Accreditation to ensure schools are meeting their obligations to students and parents, and expanding alternative schools to remove disruptive students from the traditional classroom. The centerpiece of my plan to make Virginia's schools the highest quality and safest in the nation is the hiring of five additional teachers for every elementary school in Virginia. I will also consider other reforms such as improved teacher education or changing the certification process, merit pay to reward our best teachers and reforming - but not abolishing - tenure. A high-quality education is our obligation to our children, and I am open to new ideas on how to make sure they receive it.

3. Cite three specific credentials you would look for in the people you would appoint to the state's Board of Education. Would you, for instance, expect that they have/had children in the public school system? A background in education?

BEYER'S ANSWER:

I will appoint to the Board of Education only persons who demonstrate a commitment to Virginia's public schools and have a background in or knowledge of public education, not a narrow political ideology. It is time to take partisan politics out of the management of our schools.

GILMORE'S ANSWER:

I will appoint men and women from diverse backgrounds. The board will have members with a background in education and members from the business community. They must support my plan to hire 4,000 new teachers and be committed to faithful implementation of the new standards of learning and standards of accreditation.

4. Are public schools over-emphasizing the college track for students at the expense of vocational education? If so, what would you propose?

BEYER'S ANSWER:

Preparing for a college education is very important. But, not all students see college in their future. I have worked to support a variety of school-to-work programs, including vocational training and apprenticeships to make sure all students are prepared for the future. My Jobs for Virginia Graduates program is a public-private partnership which encourages businesses to work with students while they are in school and hire them when they graduate. We must ensure that all students are prepared for their next step, whether it is work or college.

GILMORE'S ANSWER:

I believe that Virginia's public schools must be equipped to prepare students for college or to go directly into the working world. I am committed to cutting-edge vocational programs in Virginia's high schools. However, whether a student plans to attend college or to enter the job market directly out of high school, he or she must be able to read, write, calculate numbers and think critically. I will implement faithfully the new Standards of Learning and Standards of Accreditation to make sure that students have these skills. Finally I will establish a New Century Scholars program to provide merit-based college scholarships that can also be used for vocational training.

5. According to the Virginia Municipal League and others, your proposals for improving public education will mandate increased spending by local governments. Meanwhile, studies show more than $6 billion is needed for maintenance and capital improvements in Virginia public schools. Localities now pick up virtually the entire tab for construction and capital improvements in public schools. Isn't it time for the state to share more of the burden? If so, what would you propose?

BEYER'S ANSWER:

I support funds that are needed to improve the quality of schools in Virginia. I will ensure that Virginia accepts the federal funding available to public schools so that our tax dollars do not go to other states. Localities should be assisted with the cost of improving infrastructure for public schools. During the 1997 legislative session, I served as chair of the Commission on Educational Infrastructure and I worked to increase the state's payments to local school divisions to make repairs and upgrade safety measures in school buildings. We must continue to assist localities with finding new and better ways to finance school construction and repairs.

GILMORE'S ANSWER:

Again, I am firmly committed to preserving the State Literary Fund for school construction. As attorney general, I deposited $40 million from fines into the fund, and as governor, I will continue to fight for a constitutional amendment to protect the Literary Fund. My plan for improving public education in Virginia will not mandate increased spending by local governments. Unlike my opponent's plan to give teachers a blanket pay raise with no concern for improving quality, which would be an unfunded mandate on communities, my plan to reduce class sizes by hiring 4,000 new teachers would be an option for local governments with the state providing $200 million in incentive funding. ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

BEYER'S IDEAS FOR IMPROVING VIRGINIA'S SCHOOLS

Raise Virginia's average teacher salary by roughly $3,000 over

the next four years and bring them in line with the national norm.

Raises would be handed out in two ways - across-the-board

increases for teachers in all divisions and additional money for

raises in those divisions that have the greatest trouble attracting

teachers.

Cost: $400 million over the next four years; local school boards

would have to spend $300 million in matching funds.

Continue program to reduce class size for kindergarten through

third grade at schools where at least 16 percent of children live in

poverty.

Cost: $39 million.

Expand adult education programs to allow 250,000 high school

dropouts to receive general equivalency diplomas.

Cost: $2.5 million over four years.

Expand preschool programs to about 5,400 at-risk 4-year-olds not

already participating. About half of the state's 22,000 4-year-olds

who are considered at risk of having trouble in school participate

in the federal Head Start program. About 60 percent of the remainder

are served by a state-funded program called the Virginia Initiative.

Beyer said his program would serve the rest of the at-risk

4-year-olds.

Cost: About $31 million over four years.

Require both a reading teacher and a guidance counselor in

elementary schools. The state Board of Education recently voted to

make schools choose which one would receive state funding.

Cost: $10 million over four years.

Revive former sex education policy which lets parents choose to

opt out of sex ed classes. The Board of Education recently voted to

let school divisions decide whether sex education (also known as

family life curriculum) should be offered in school.

Create a professional standards board for teachers to help

oversee teacher education, licensing and professional development.

The board would have authority to define guidelines for teacher

certification, adopt standards for teacher preparation and issue

licenses.

Increase student SAT scores by providing block grants to local

school boards so they could purchase and administer PSAT tests to

10th-graders. Cost: $2.5 million over four years.

Oppose the use of vouchers, which would give parents tax credits

if they send their children to private school.

Encourage Virginia students to become teachers by strengthening

existing scholarship programs for students who want to enter

education and requiring high schools offer elective classes on the

profession.

Establish the inVEST Scholarship which would provide a one-time,

$2,000 grant to every high school graduate with a B average or

better. The scholarships also would take financial need into

account. Cost: $280 million.

GILMORE'S IDEAS FOR IMPROVING VIRGINIA'S SCHOOLS

Add 4,000 new elementary school teachers. Local school divisions

could use the new teachers - about five per school - to reduce class

size or to provide remedial programs for students not passing

Virginia's new academic standards.

Cost: $200 million. Local school divisions also would have to

come up with matching funds.

Continue the Board of Education's program to implement the new

Standards of Learning established under Gov. George Allen. Tests

will be implemented to show how well students are mastering the

subjects that schools are teaching them.

Students who fail will be given remedial help through tutors,

after-school programs, summer school and other options to ensure

their best chance to succeed.

Require every school to issue a report card so parents can see

how their children's school is performing in comparison to other

schools on a number of issues: test scores, dropout rates,

attendance and safety.

Support the board of education's new standards that call for

school boards - not parents - to decide whether children should

receive sex education. Also support new standards forcing schools to

decide whether the state should pay for elementary guidance

counselors or reading teachers.

Give teachers and school administrators greater disciplinary

power, expand the use of alternative schools for serious discipline

problems and involve the community in anti-drug and anti-gang

activities through his ``New Partnership'' initiatives.

Require criminal background checks of new school employees who

work with or near children.

Consider the use of vouchers, which would give tax credits to

parents who send their children to private school.

Provide teachers with liability insurance and, thus, immunity

from frivolous lawsuits as a result of maintaining discipline in

their classrooms. Cost: $12 million.

Offer New Century Scholarship Program of $2,000 annually for

every student who scores in the top 20 percent in his or her high

school on the new Standards of Learning tests, maintains a B average

or better, and has a good disciplinary record. Cost: $240 million. KEYWORDS: ELECTION VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE VIRGINIA

PLATFORMS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CANDIDATES

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