Changes sought for troubled Beach driver's education program

VIRGINIA BEACH

At 9:05 a.m. on a recent morning, Jasmine Marshall stepped out of Kellam High School and eased into a car. The Ford Taurus, topped by a yellow sign reading "student driver," would be the 11th-grader's second classroom of the day.

It was test day, and she was a little nervous.

Like most local school divisions, the Beach offers behind-the-wheel training and driver's license testing at all its high schools. But the way the program will be offered in the future is up in the air.

Prompted by year long waiting lists, accounting problems at some sites and a desire to save money, school administrators last month presented plans to privatize the driver's education program.

The School Board objected to that idea and requested more options. Chairman Dan Edwards read the division's mission statement aloud, then said: "I don't see how we can possibly exempt driver's education.... Philosophically, I feel driver's education is part and parcel with what we do."

The option that faced the most criticism would offer 3,000 students $150 vouchers to private driving schools, which typically cost $300 or more. The schools offer driver's training for $100.

Though the plan would have served 1,400 more students than this year, it still would fall short of helping all 5,600 students who completed the driver's education portion of their 10 th-grade health and physical education classes.

Joe Burnsworth, director of secondary instructional services, said a new set of recommendations will not be ready in time to make changes for the next academic year.

Problems with driver's education in Virginia Beach date back to late 2006, when an internal audit of the program at Kempsville High School found several thousand dollars missing or unaccounted for, said Lyndon Remias, a School Board member who sits on the internal audit committee. Some of the money may have been stolen.

Students' payments were not always recorded properly, and the number of temporary driver's licenses didn't match up with the number of students in the program, Remias explained.

"The audit committee made recommendations to enhance those records. It was not a recommendation to eliminate the program," he said. "It's up to administration to address internal control issues. They could be addressed without eliminating it."Similar problems were found several months later during an internal audit of the program at Tallwood High.

Two people resigned as a result of the audits, and the missing money was repaid, said Deputy City Attorney Kamala Lannetti.

Burnsworth said the audits prompted several changes, including annual training for instructors and school administrators, the development of a new handbook and a central database to track students' participation, payments and licensure.

But another change last fall increased pressure on the program. The state administrator in charge of driver's education sent an e-mail to Burnsworth saying only two students may be in a car at a time - one driving and one observing. That changed the practice of having two observers in the car, which had been in place since 2001.

As a result, even fewer students were allowed actual driving hours at their schools.

"So many students go unserved," Burnsworth said. "We want to serve more students in a more equitable way."

Although plans are not final, several driver's education instructors have spoken out against privatization.

"The biggest reason we need to keep this thing is safety," said Bill King, a driver's education instructor at Ocean Lakes High School. "We could charge $200 and still be cheaper than driving schools."

And Jasmine Marshall, who had waited since August to get a slot in the behind-the-wheel class, wants to see it stay around, too.

"You can get it over with over lunch, rather than on the weekend," she said just before her successful driving test.

She buckled her belt, adjusted the center mirror and waited for directions before she drove away.

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com