ROANOKE TIMES

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

DATE: FRIDAY, February 1, 1991                   TAG: 9102010322
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: STATE  
SOURCE: ROB EURE POLITICAL WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium


VMI BILL FAILS AGAIN

For the second straight year, the sole graduate of Virginia Military Institute in the General Assembly killed a measure Thursday aimed at opening the school to women.

Sen. Elmon Gray, D-Waverly, who heads the Senate Education and Health Committee, announced he would not consider the measure because of a pending court case against the VMI policy in federal court in Roanoke.

The committee then upheld his ruling on a 10-4 vote.

"You have worked very hard on this issue," Gray told Sen. Emilie Miller, D-Fairfax, before making his ruling. "But VMI has worked very hard for more than 150 years on its simple mission, and we've earned our day in court."

That mission has been available only to men. Miller's bill would have barred state colleges and universities from admissions policies that discriminate on the basis of sex.

Miller said her bill would set state policy, which she said is the job of the General Asembly.

"Public schools financed with public money ought to be open to the public," she said. She also read a letter in support of her bill written by conservative columnist James Kilpatrick.

But supporters of VMI's policy argued that they prefer their chances in court, despite the predictions of many legal scholars that the policy is likely to be found unconstitutional.

The U.S. Justice Department is suing VMI over the all-male policy, with the trial scheduled to begin in early April. VMI Alumni Foundation president Frank Louthan said he believes the school has an "excellent chance" in court.

Miller, an outspoken critic of the policy, said she is not seeking publicity for herself with the measure. Nonetheless, as soon as Gray's ruling was upheld by the committee, Miller left the committee table and drew a crowd of television cameras.

The same committee Thursday killed a bill to abolish the post of secretary of education - a measure sponsored by Sen. Dudley "Buzz" Emick, D-Fincastle.

The committee voted 13-1 to back another Emick measure setting up a legislative committee charged with easing disparity between wealthy and poor schools and trimming local school administrations.

However, the committee sent a companion measure that called for a half-cent increase in the sales tax to fund the committee's work into the Senate Finance Committee, where it is expected to be killed.



 by CNB