THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060369
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 114 lines
The superintendent's proposed five-year strategic plan suggests the district seek taxing authority after public confidence in the schools' fiscal management is restored.
Such a move would be years into the future, however, and could only take place if the School Board approved it and if the state granted the district taxing authority.
The district could seek fiscal independence from the city - meaning it would be able to levy its own taxes on residents to pay for schools - only after ``many, many things have been satisfied, which would take several years,'' Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney said in an interview Tuesday.
The division's first priority would be building public confidence, he said.
``To seek one without the other is ludicrous.''
The steps the district would first have to take include:
Administering annual school budgets with complete integrity.
Developing and implementing conservative fiscal policies.
Conducting focus groups to educate and sample opinion.
Exploring the benefits of fiscal autonomy and educating the public on the benefits.
The issue is only one within the 27-page document aired publicly for the first time Tuesday. The proposed plan sets the long-term direction for a district that has largely moved from crisis to crisis for more than a year. It is based on the work of staff members and community representatives but still requires board approval.
The board delayed discussion of the plan.
Board members were cautious after the brief initial review of the plan.
Board Vice Chairwoman Delceno C. Miles said of the proposal for fiscal autonomy: ``I think it would be an uphill battle at best. I think the school division has other priorities right now.
``It's just not something I think the board needs to be focused on. There are issues of far greater import,'' such as running an efficient school system, she said.
Board member Donald F. Bennis said while he would not be able to immediately support taxing authority for the division, it's something he would consider as a long-range possibility.
``For the long term, I'd be willing to look at it,'' Bennis said. He said he would need more information about how the process would work.
Some City Council members said Tuesday that they didn't think it was politically feasible - or advisable - to give the district taxing authority.
``I don't think this city or this state is quite ready for two bodies to tax them,'' City Council member Reba S. McClanan said. ``The needs and expenses (of the school district) need to be a part of the total picture of what the city does and is. Citizens and taxpayers really are entitled to see us as well as the school system control the level of spending.''
McClanan said the School Board could become less accountable to the public if it gets taxing authority, because it won't have the City Council looking over its shoulder.
Other council members were less critical of Jenney's idea Tuesday, saying they could see some benefit to fiscal autonomy if the board remains elected.
``I have mixed emotions about it,'' said council member William W. Harrison Jr., who preferred the old system of appointed school boards.
``If the buck stops at the School Board's desk, they're going to be held accountable for setting policy and making the tough decisions as to which policy decisions come first,'' he said.
But Harrison said he doesn't think the idea is feasible.
``I'm not sure the public is ready to have two taxing authorities,'' he said. ``I don't think I am.''
Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said she supports giving the district separate taxing authority, but also acknowledged the political realities.
``I think it would certainly give the public the opportunity to have the School Board directly accountable to them in every fashion,'' she said. But ``it would be an enormous change, because . . . you'd have to create a feeling of confidence among the voters in this city that they would not be steamrollered.''
The board will now have its chance to look at the proposal and offer suggestions and refinements.
Jenney indicated before the meeting that he would like to get approval for the plan at the next School Board meeting, scheduled for Nov. 19. But a board member's suggestion for a workshop on the plan could delay that. And it is likely that the board will suggest additions or deletions.
Beyond fiscal autonomy, common threads woven through the proposed plan are standards, accountability, and measurements and public reporting of the results.
Parents won't be able to look to the plan to find out which textbook their children will use, but they can get a glimpse of the philosophical direction that will drive that textbook's selection.
Some of the specifics of the proposal are:
Establishing standards for the implementation of curricula and programs.
Creating rewards and sanctions for those standards.
Developing a new state-of-the-art technical center.
Setting reading improvement as the district's primary content initiative.
Delivering comprehensive early childhood education and establishing an Early Childhood Education Task Force.
Decreasing disciplinary infractions and designing a computer database to track violations.
Establishing programs to ensure proportionate disciplinary action among all groups of children.
Establishing a special emergency reserve account in proportion to the annual budget.
Making sure there is one computer for every five students and targeting 5 percent of the total operating budget for buying, installing and maintaining technology. Ensuring that diversity is adequately reflected in the curriculum.
Establishing performance standards for each employee classification and preparing a report outlining rewards and consequences to support the evaluation system.
Increasing parental involvement, the number of school volunteers and the number of partnerships. MEMO: Staff writer Karen Weintraub contributed to this story. by CNB