DATE: Thursday, September 18, 1997          TAG: 9709180005

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B11  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Opinion 

SOURCE: Patrick Lackey 

                                            LENGTH:   88 lines

IN VIRGINIA, FAILING SCHOOLS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL BOTH CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR, WHILE PRATTLING ON ABOUT CUTTING TAXES AND IMPROVING VIRGINIA SCHOOLS, ARE IGNORING PUBLIC SCHOOLS' MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION NEEDS.

The primary responsibility for educating Virginia public school children rests with cities and counties, right?

I used to think so, because the local school boards are largely autonomous from Richmond and because Virginia emphasizes keeping public education local.

Live and learn.

In fact, the Virginia Constitution makes clear that the General Assembly is responsible for providing high-quality public schools. Not partly responsible, but responsible. The buck stops there.

Education was first made part of the Virginia Constitution in 1870, when an article was added requiring Virginia to provide for a ``uniform system of free public schools.''

Then the 1971 Constitution of Virginia upped the ante, raising public education from a ``privilege'' to a ``right,'' according to A.E. Dick Howard, a University of Virginia law professor who served as executive director of the 1969 Constitutional Revision Commission. Its work led to the 1971 constitutional revisions.

The constitution now states, ``The General Assembly shall provide for a system of free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the Commonwealth, and shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained.''

There's no wiggle room. The General Assembly is responsible.

The constitution authorizes the General Assembly to apportion the cost of achieving the state's standards of quality between the state and local government and to mandate that local governments pay their share.

I was made aware of all this by a recent paper by Norma E. Szakal, senior attorney for education and health in the Division of Legislative Services, the research and legal arm of the General Assembly. The eight-page paper, titled ``The Governing Structure of Public Education in Virginia,'' was published by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. It's being circulated to state leaders and school board members. You can get a copy by calling the Weldon Cooper Center at 1-804-982-5704.

The paper could hardly be more timely for two reasons.

The first is that both candidates for governor, while prattling on about cutting taxes and improving Virginia schools, are ignoring public schools' maintenance and construction needs. A survey last year estimated those needs at $6 billion.

Whose responsibility are those crumbling buildings? Ultimately, the General Assembly's.

The paper is also timely because it comes just as the state Board of Education has adopted a requirement that 70 percent of every public school's students must pass new math, English, science and history tests. Schools that cannot meet the new requirement lose their accreditation.

Critics of the new requirement see it as a sneaky way to attack public schools - to the advantage of private ones. Del. Kenneth R. Plum, D-Reston, a retired educator, said Michelle Easton, a conservative activist and president of the state Board of Education, is engaged in a ``stealth campaign. . . to discredit public schools.'' Plum said, ``We are about to undertake a testing program that will say to some people that public schools are not successful.''

While some critics claim the new requirement is too tough, Easton responds, ``I am appalled at their lack of confidence in the teachers, schools and students.''

Her response would be more credible, of course, if she hadn't pulled her three children from Fairfax public schools, probably the best system in the state. She said of one of her children, ``. . . If he spent spent an hour a day in core academics, it was a good day.''

Does anyone truly believe that on most days public schools spend less than an hour on core academics? Apparently the head of the state Board of Education does, so you can see why Easton makes proponents of public schools nervous. Also, she's a staunch supporter of charter schools and government vouchers for private schools.

But the point is, if 70 percent of students in a school fail to pass the new tests, the ultimate responsibility for fixing the problem will rest with the state. The constitution does not allow the General Assembly to shirk that responsibility.

Likely, the schools that fail will be the ones with the most economically deprived students - in poor rural counties and inner cities.

This week, Del. Clarence E. ``Bud'' Phillips, D-Dickenson, predicted that some rural schools in poorer districts will fail and turn to the state for help in providing remediation. Presumably representatives of inner city schools will join them in seeking more state aid.

It's easy to envision poorer school districts suing the state for failing in its constitutional responsibility to provide high-quality education.

The buck stops there.

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