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By JANE BANGLEY
Rappahannock N«wa Staff Writer
Beverly Massie has been a member of School Board for 12 years, and she has seen the school system make advances in all areas of education. She is the representative on the Board from Jackson District, and she has been the chairman of the Board since 1977. She is also Rappahannock’s representative on the board of the Piedmont Technical School.
“We have made great strides in the field of special education, and have made the community more aware of the needs of the educational process in the county,” Massie said. “I have seen many students from Rappahannock achieve real educational goals of not only going on to college, but in the work world as well.”
Knowing that Rappahannock students are doing well makes Massie even more eager to see the Board help in the education process. “I’d like to be able to offer the best education that the county can afford,” said Massie. <■
Massie is concerned about funding for the school system, and about the standing of the “average” student. “The way that the state bases a county’s ability to pay on the composite index needs to be reviewed,” said Massie. “That has been a disadvantage to our county and to all rural areas because land value is a misrepresentation at times.” Massie suggests instead that the state should base its determination of the need for funds on the income tax of individuals.
Massie’s concern for the “average” student stems from the attention that handicapped and gifted and talented students receive. “A lot of good things have been done in those programs, but I’m concerned that the ‘average’ student is being shortchanged,” said Massie. “The ‘average’ children are the ones who will be the main supporters of any tax system in the country, and therefore I think that their education needs to be the best that can be provided.”
The future of the Board and what it can achieve looks bright to Massie, though. She is looking forward to the expansion project at the high school becoming a reality as the Board has been working towards that goal since 1975.
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