Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 11, 1990                   TAG: 9005110667
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EDUCATION

The volunteer group is an outgrowth of the Lacy Commission, a two-year study of Southwest Virginia's economy, set up by then-Gov. Charles S. Robb. The commission's report prompted legislation creating incentives to bring new industry to the area.

Now FSV is trying to follow through on those recommendations. At their meeting last week at Mountain Lake, the 45 members made one modest, yet insightful proposal.

Stress education, they said. That's the best road to a secure economic future. They made other suggestions concerning transportation, business and tourism, but a clear emphasis on education was the central point.

Admittedly, that's not the most dramatic and attention-grabbing statement the organization could have made. Instead, it makes sense.

Good schools and a public recognition of their importance form the base that this region - or any other - needs for economic development.

Of course, as everyone knows, education costs money, and Southwest Virginia is in competition with other parts of the state for its share of those dollars. Thus, FSV also intends to work with the Governor's Commission on Educational Equity for All Virginians. That's where some interesting questions will be addressed in coming years.

Although FSV is a volunteer organization, its voice is heard in Richmond. Chairman James P. Jones is considering a more active role for the group, including hiring an executive director. That's for FSV to decide.

For the moment, the group has identified the region's key problem - economic development - and wants to help find solutions. There are no magic-bullet cures to be found in education. But it's the right place to look.