 | The Cavalier daily Friday, January 12, 1973 |  |
Pay Hike Heads Concerns
Of University In Assembly
By PHIL KIMBALL
State employee raises, and
to private educational
institutions, clarification of the
Freedom of Information Act
will be the topics of debate
most concerning the University
as the 1973 General Assembly
conducts a 30-45 day session in
Richmond.
Gov. Linwood Holton, in
Tuesday's opening address to
the legislative body, called for
the appropriation of $13
million from the general fund
and $25 million from the
special funds for salary
increases for classified state
employees.
Pay Hike Effects Js
The proposed pay hike
would effect 50,000 jobs
throughout the
Commonwealth. More than
4,600 University employees
would be covered by the new
bill. Jobs 'classified' by the
state range from custodial
workers to middle management
personnel. University faculty
members are not included.
"This will be the
University's number one
priority at this session, Edwin
Crawford, the University's
ason with the legislature, said
Tuesday. It will also be the
only area in which the
University will take official
action.
Stone Submits Bill
Yesterday William F. Stone,
D-Martinsville, formally
submitted a second bill to
provide state loans to Virginia
students who attend private
colleges in the state.
If this legislation passes,
student admissions pressure
placed on institutions of higher
learning may be lessened.
The Virginia Supreme
Court declared
unconstitutional a similar bill
passed in 1972 because of a
provision that allowed the state
to waive loan repayment if the
student maintained a
satisfactory grade point
average. The court ruled that
this made the loan a grant.
The newly proposed bill
also waives repayment, but
only under certain instances.
They include working for state
or local governments, working
for certain nonprofit
organizations, service in the
armed forces, or residing in the
state following graduation.
The Council of Presidents
of the State Institutions of
Higher Education is
backing a second
proposal which would only
grant financial aid for a
student's 'demonstrated
financial need.'
Senator Expects Passage
The council stated that
private college scholarship
students should not have have
limitations placed on them as
to the opportunities they
might wish to pursue following
completion of their education.'
Mr. Stone felt the second
bill directly opposed his plan.
He claims Marshall Hahn,
council chairman and VPI
President, knows his proposal
will not help the private
colleges to any degree at all.
Sen. Stone also predicted that
his revised bill will pass
through both houses with little
opposition.
Open Visitor's Meetings
Proposed amendments to
the Freedom of Information
Act, if passed, will open the
University's Board of Visitors
meetings to the public. The act
as it now stands allows the
State Council on Higher
Education, its committees and
the Boards of Visitors of state
supported Universities and
colleges to conduct private
sessions.
Little Change Predicted
The elimination of this
provision would force open
meetings except in cases
involving personnel actions,
real estate deliberations
and consultation with legal
counsel.
Raymond Bice, Secretary of
the University's Board; claims
that any amendment would
have little effect on the way
the board presently conducts
their meetings. Other observers
said they felt private 'executive
sessions' would increase.
Presently the Board's public
decisions are announced at the
close of each meeting.
| The Cavalier daily Friday, January 12, 1973 | |