DATE: Tuesday, March 11, 1997               TAG: 9703110010

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

BEYER ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY: EDUCATION TO BE THEME CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR SENSIBLY CHOOSES TO MAKE IMPROVED SCHOOLS THE CENTERPIECE OF HIS CAMPAIGN.

It has been 16 years since Virginia elected a governor who made education the top priority for his administration. Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer offered to end that stretch by naming public schools and their users as his guiding political passion.

Making the long-anticipated announcement that he will campaign for governor, the 46-year-old Northern Virginia automobile dealer and Democrat ticked off his list of goals: End social promotion, move teachers' salaries to the national average, increase school discipline, reduce class sizes and produce ``world-quality students, year after year, every place in the state.''

It is a gargantuan agenda worthy of gubernatorial attention, and one that will doubtless be discussed by Attorney General James S. Gilmore III when he announces for the GOP nomination next month. No topic is of greater import to Virginians. The state deserves serious debate, free of glib slogans and litmus-test solutions, over how to create better schools.

We hope the discussion won't turn into a squabble that focuses more on avoiding new taxes than on honestly assessing the cost of worthwhile educational improvements. Already, the campaign is slipping in an unfortunate direction, with Gilmore charging that Beyer's plans ``guarantee a tax increase.''

Without knowing the details of what Beyer wants, it's hard to say. He argues that economic growth will provide an extra $2 billion over the next four years and that much of his agenda - increasing discipline, for instance - is cost-free. It would be better for Republicans to let the debate evolve a bit before jumping into tired, old ``tax-and-spend liberal'' sloganeering.

So far, both candidates have avoided taking a no-tax pledge. They should continue to resist, no matter how much their handlers might encourage them to do otherwise. If tax increases are avoided, everyone will be grateful. But in a state that has seen eight years of government retrenchment, it would be irresponsible to close off options prematurely.

The specifics of the Beyer agenda have yet to be unveiled, but he did offer a blueprint compatible with his promise to govern ``from the mainstream.'' He would launch a full-scale attack on teen pregnancy, work to halve Virginia's 25 percent high school dropout rate, use tax breaks and credits to stimulate job creation and protect the environment.

In theory, all are commendable; we await the details.

On a festive occasion, Beyer gave evidence of the wit and spirit that will make him an attractive candidate. He leaned out a window to shake hands with supporters unable to enter the packed Old Senate Chamber. He highlighted his businessman's credentials by quipping: ``I believe I'll be the first certified auto mechanic ever to lead this state.''

And he ad libbed to the audience's delight as his two youngest daughters scrambled around the podium. ``Our children - no matter how fidgety - our children are all we've got.''

Beyer has that straight. And Gilmore, as both the husband of a former public schoolteacher and a father, also knows it well. They will serve Virginia best by running child-safe campaigns that focus on facts, avoid name-calling and hyperbole and practice what both have doubtless preached at home: that prized ends do not justify ignoble means. KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE GUBERNATORIAL RACE GOVERNOR'S RACE

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