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

DATE: SATURDAY, January 28, 1995                   TAG: 9501310042
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Short

EDUCATION COUNCIL EVADES AX

The Senate Education and Health Committee has killed a bill that would have slashed the budget of the agency that oversees higher education in Virginia.

Officials from the State Council on Higher Education said their operations would have been crippled by a bill, backed by Gov. George Allen, to cut $1.4 million and 16 positions from the agency's budget.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Russell Potts of Winchester, and Secretary of Education Beverly Sgro said the measure would eliminate redundant activities, such as budget recommendations, that other state agencies oversee.

But council supporters said the council plays an especially important role as a bridge between state colleges and state government in an era of higher education budget cuts and restructuring.

``That requires a coordination of priorities and [the council]'s role in this is absolutely necessary,'' Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene Trani told legislators, who killed the bill overwhelmingly.

Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995

by CNB