by Serwan Zangana
Apparently, Mayor Joe Cobb has been taking a position against the flat fund for the Roanoke City Public Schools. In 2011, a policy was written and implemented to fund Roanoke’s public schools automatic 40% from the tax revenue. Such a policy has become a solid post for the Roanoke City Public Schools to rely on in receiving guaranteed funds.
But Mayor Cobb’s vote to change this policy has concerned many parents and educational professionals and experts and became a major issue for the schools. The Roanoke City Public Schools Administration now is required to stand and defend the legitimacy of their spending for the Roanoke City’s students in order to receive such funds.
As Roanoke being a diverse City, its public schools, compared to some surrounding cities and towns’, have been embracing the most Black and minority students. According to the Roanoke City Public Schools web site, the student’s ethnic distribution is: Black 41.5%, Hispanic and other 26.4%, and Caucasian 32.1%.
Therefore, complicating funding the Roanoke City Schools will mostly impact Blacks and other minority students. Instead of creating obstacles, Roanoke City Council members and Cobb are indeed able to build a bridge and connect with the city’s schools and support their staff to provide a better teaching tools and environment.
The middle class and the lower middle class of Roanoke City are depending on the City’s public schools for education and other programs that can pave the path for the children’s success. Changing the funding formula will impact many important academic activities.
The Roanoke City Public Schools have already been affected by the federal government’s new policy in cutting funds from the Department of Education, that was supported by some Republicans. Such policy strengthened some Republicans and generated the idea of closing this Department. However, Roanoke City’s policy change regarding schools funding will result in changing the operation of the schools.
Obviously, the Roanoke City’s officials, including former City manager Bob Cowell, have failed in the past in managing the City’s budget efficiently, which resulted in a budget shortfall. Roanoke City over spent $5 million last budget year, and instead of some City’s officials to be held responsible, the Roanoke City Public Schools officials were questioned for malfeasance. Evidently, there was no malfeasance by the Roanoke City Schools.
Furthermore, the City manager, Valmarie Turner targeted Roanoke’s public schools and brought its officials under the microscope, which was a wrong trend, she took against the City’s schools and an indication of her unfamiliarity with the Roanoke City Public Schools Administration and its responsibilities and spending.
The Roanoke’s families have built faith in the City’s schools as the main sources for the children’s education. Therefore, understanding the importance of funding Roanoke’s public schools as an investment in Roanoke’s children for a better future.
However, the automatic 40% fund to Roanoke’s Public Schools from the City’s tax revenue was changed to “up to 40 percent” of estimated city revenue. This does not exactly mean the Roanoke Public Schools will receive 40% funds!
All in all, the Roanoke City officials should not narrow the path for the Roanoke City Public Schools. The members of the Council and the Mayor should have more empathy for Roanoke’s students and listen to the City’s public schools’ professionals and educational experts when it comes to the schools and students’ needs, and hence, realizing the importance of a complete support for the Roanoke City Public Schools.
