Miss-Delectable
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http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/NEWS01/604210336/1002
The consolidation of the Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind hit another snag in the General Assembly this week, but Staunton representatives said they're not done fighting yet.
Gov. Tim Kaine must once again consider legislation that would create one Staunton campus after his amendments to the legislation failed Wednesday by a five-vote House margin. The Senate's approval was nearly unanimous, with two members abstaining.
Among the House nays: Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, who said his last-minute discovery of a deleted funding clause caused him to reject the amendments.
"The link between the actual intent of the bill and the budget was taken out, and that was an important link for me," Saxman said. That link would have strengthened the legislation, helping it get the necessary funding to complete the project, he said.
But Saxman and others who support a consolidated Staunton school said the issue isn't dead yet. Kaine has 30 days to decide if he will sign the legislation without the amendments. If he vetoes, Staunton legislators said they still could push consolidation through as a budget item.
"In my opinion, policy should be in a standalone bill, and then you put the funding for it in the budget, but often things are written into the budget, and that's what we'll have to do," said Sen. Emmett Hanger, who sponsored one of the original consolidation bills.
Kevin Hall, Kaine's press secretary, described Saxman's concerns about the amendments as "unnecessary," adding that it didn't make sense to keep a reference to funding in a 2006 General Assembly budget that doesn't exist.
Kaine's intention in amending the consolidation legislation was to allow the Hampton Roads community more say in what happens to their school, Hall said. In addition to the funding clause, the amendment deleted language that would have given the Hampton campus to the New Horizons Regional Education Center, a private organization that already offers special education services to several school districts in that area.
"The governor is supportive of a consolidated institution, renovated and upgraded at Staunton," Hall said. "But he and others in the Hampton Roads community don't think it was appropriate for the House to have specified a service provider for those students who would remain in Hampton Roads without having open and thorough discussions with the community."
Both Hanger and Saxman believe the state can settle the consolidation issue this year, through the budget if necessary. However, both acknowledged that a budget could still be a few weeks away because the General Assembly still can't agree about issues such as transportation.
"Once we resolve a bit of that, then we can get down to some of the other concepts that will be part of the budget process," Hanger said.
The consolidation of the Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind hit another snag in the General Assembly this week, but Staunton representatives said they're not done fighting yet.
Gov. Tim Kaine must once again consider legislation that would create one Staunton campus after his amendments to the legislation failed Wednesday by a five-vote House margin. The Senate's approval was nearly unanimous, with two members abstaining.
Among the House nays: Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, who said his last-minute discovery of a deleted funding clause caused him to reject the amendments.
"The link between the actual intent of the bill and the budget was taken out, and that was an important link for me," Saxman said. That link would have strengthened the legislation, helping it get the necessary funding to complete the project, he said.
But Saxman and others who support a consolidated Staunton school said the issue isn't dead yet. Kaine has 30 days to decide if he will sign the legislation without the amendments. If he vetoes, Staunton legislators said they still could push consolidation through as a budget item.
"In my opinion, policy should be in a standalone bill, and then you put the funding for it in the budget, but often things are written into the budget, and that's what we'll have to do," said Sen. Emmett Hanger, who sponsored one of the original consolidation bills.
Kevin Hall, Kaine's press secretary, described Saxman's concerns about the amendments as "unnecessary," adding that it didn't make sense to keep a reference to funding in a 2006 General Assembly budget that doesn't exist.
Kaine's intention in amending the consolidation legislation was to allow the Hampton Roads community more say in what happens to their school, Hall said. In addition to the funding clause, the amendment deleted language that would have given the Hampton campus to the New Horizons Regional Education Center, a private organization that already offers special education services to several school districts in that area.
"The governor is supportive of a consolidated institution, renovated and upgraded at Staunton," Hall said. "But he and others in the Hampton Roads community don't think it was appropriate for the House to have specified a service provider for those students who would remain in Hampton Roads without having open and thorough discussions with the community."
Both Hanger and Saxman believe the state can settle the consolidation issue this year, through the budget if necessary. However, both acknowledged that a budget could still be a few weeks away because the General Assembly still can't agree about issues such as transportation.
"Once we resolve a bit of that, then we can get down to some of the other concepts that will be part of the budget process," Hanger said.