ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke County School Board Chairman Thomas Leggette says federal and state governments should help pay to fix up the nation's aging and crumbling schools.
"Throughout our state and nation, the bricks and mortar of our school buildings have gotten older and older and begun to deteriorate," Leggette said Monday.
"We all - by we, I mean we as individuals, as a county, as a state and as a nation - need to be willing to step up [to] the plate and make investing in education a priority.''
Superintendent Deanna Gordon has predicted that a new study will show that the county needs to spend $120 million on school improvements in the next five to 10 years.
In light of the county's needs, Leggette said, he welcomes proposals by President Clinton and some congressmen to provide federal aid to help renovate schools.
"I invite our local, state and national elected officials to come and look over the shoulders of those of us who sit on school boards and to see what we see," he said.
Last week, Clinton proposed a $5 billion federal program to repair and replace school buildings across the country. A recent federal study found that a third of the nation's 80,000 schools are in need of major repair.
Some 60 percent of the schools need at least some work on major building features, such as a roof, floor or wall, the General Accounting Office survey found. The report concluded that it would cost $112 billion to repair the schools.
Roanoke County is beginning a study of needed improvements at all schools following the defeat of a $37.4 million bond issue for a new Cave Spring High and several smaller renovations. School officials hope the study will help build a consensus for a new package of school improvements.
Leggette said he doesn't think that federal money for school renovations would undermine local control over schools.
"As I understand it, it would simply be a loan package at a cheaper interest rate," Leggette said. "I don't see that would mean any interference with our schools or have strings attached.''
Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., and other Democrats have introduced legislation calling for a partnership between the federal, state and local governments on school repairs.
Roanoke, which could need to spend more than $70 million on school improvements in the next decade, could benefit from federal aid, too, said Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations.
The city School Board has asked City Council to include $20 million in a bond issue next year to pay for middle school renovations, elementary school additions and air conditioning for several schools.
In addition, the city could be facing costs of up to $50 million in the next decade for renovating or replacing Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools.
"We could benefit from a federal program if [Gov. George Allen] chooses to participate in it," said Kelley, noting that the governor rejected federal money from the Goals 2000 program because he feared that it might lead to federal intrusion in local schools.
Allen has not taken a position on proposals for federal aid for school renovations because not enough details are available, a spokesman said Monday. The governor will look at such proposals to see if there are strings attached before commenting, the spokesman said.
Roanoke could receive a substantial amount of federal aid if it were distributed on the basis of the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-priced lunches, Kelley said.
Forty-two percent of Roanoke's students receive subsidized lunches, ranking the city fifth in the state in that category.
Funding for school improvements will be a crucial need for the city during the next few years, said Marsha Ellison, School Board chairman.
Under Clinton's plan, the federal government would spur a much larger building program by offering interest subsidies of as much as 50 percent for school renovation and replacement. The poorest school districts would receive the highest priority on a sliding scale.
Clinton said the program would be flexible and would give states and local communities the power to decide how to use the federal money.
But some Republicans in Congress have said that the federal government cannot afford to help repair the nation's schools when it is running deficits in the range of $200 billion a year.
Congress approved a new $100 million program in 1994 to build, repair and renovate schools, but eliminated the program the following year - before any money was distributed - to help balance the budget.
Leggette said the state also needs to provide more aid for localities for the construction and renovation of schools. The state pays 36 percent of the operational costs for schools, but nothing for the construction and renovation of school buildings, which are primarily the responsibility of localities.
The state offers low-interest Literary Fund loans to cities and counties for school improvements. But the loans are limited to $5 million on a project, far below the $25 million to $30 million cost for a new high school and $7 million to $10 million for a middle school.
In recent years, communities have been forced to wait several years to get a loan because the state dipped into the Literary Fund to finance other governmental operations.
"We went through a period of time when the state raided the Literary Fund and loans were not available when they were needed," Leggette said.
A backlog of projects developed in Roanoke County and some other localities because loans were delayed, Leggette said.
The state has replenished the loan fund, but "there's a feeling that $5 million is unrealistically low for a high school project," Kelley said.
During recent years, the state has provided small amounts to localities - about $40,000 each for Roanoke and Roanoke County - for the maintenance of school buildings. But that is not enough to pay for major renovations, Kelley said.
Earlier this year, the General Assembly approved the creation of a Commission on Educational Infrastructure to study schools' physical and technical infrastructure needs and to project the need for construction and renovation.
Del. Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke, is a member of the commission, which is just beginning its study. Woodrum said Monday it's too early to say whether the commission will recommend that the state help fund school construction, but that is a possibility.
"We're going to look at creative ways to finance school improvements," Woodrum said. "At this point, I don't want to lock us in or to limit us to any particular methods."
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