THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601120504
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GUY FRIDDELL
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Gov. George F. Allen envisioned a ``Silicon Virginia'' in his State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday, but he dismissed requests for a heavy infusion of funds to educate a high-tech work force.
He compared the pleas for more money to the letter his 7-year-old daughter wrote to Santa Claus.
``She made a long list asking for all kinds of toys and things,'' Allen said, ``but she understands that Santa Claus cannot bring her everything she wants. So I hope those who incessantly criticize and demand more and more spending will understand that if Santa cannot meet all requests, neither can the taxpayers of Virginia.''
The governor's folksy analogy dismayed Northern Virginia developer John ``Til'' Hazel, who heads businessmen pleading for more for colleges and universities.
``His speech and that statement is . . . very demeaning of education in Virginia,'' Hazel said. ``I have seen his budget and it is totally inadequate.''
Nor were supporters of Virginia's elementary and secondary schools cheered by Allen's speech at the opening of the General Assembly.
Allen urged the legislators to impose greater accountability on schools through a testing program that will measure how well they are doing under tougher academic standards. Simply spending more money has not worked in the past, he said.
Allen described the biennial testing program, costing $25 million to develop, as providing ``school performance report cards.''
But accountability runs two ways. The governor and legislators and parents ought to be accountable as well as teachers for education.
With the support of former Govs. Charles Robb and Gerald Baliles, Virginia climbed to 18th among the 50 states in the amount paid to school teachers. Now Virginia ranks 26th.
In 1990 the average teacher salary in the Old Dominion was within $423 of the national average. Now the state's average salary has dropped more than $3,000 below the national average.
Allen said, ``We do no service for our children when we just throw money at their education.''
Politicians pitch money at every cause under the sun, but they balk at education. The governor would have thrown millions of dollars in building prisons far in excess of what the inmate population justified. Democrats and some Republicans stalwarts trimmed his program. A study by state fiscal experts confirmed their judgment.
The state's educational system is under continuing scrutiny. During a Democratic response to the governor's speech, Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr. called for, among other things, a computer in every classroom and reductions in class sizes in the early elementary grades.
``In business, you can't cut your way to prosperity,'' he said. ``And in education, we can't starve our schools into excellence.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Gov. Allen
by CNB