Va. House Denies Funds For Kaine's Key Efforts

Money for Conservation, Pre-Kindergarten to Be Debated by Chambers

RICHMOND, Feb. 8 -- The Virginia House of Delegates dealt a setback Thursday to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's efforts to secure money for land conservation and pre-kindergarten programs, as lawmakers approved changes to the state's two-year budget.

After hours of partisan sparring, the Republican-controlled House approved a budget that would boost funding for mentally retarded residents, give a pay raise to state workers and teachers and increase health-care spending. But it would not fund two of Kaine's top priorities: protecting an additional 400,000 acres of open space by 2010 and launching a pilot program that makes early-childhood education available to more 4-year-olds.

"The budget recommendations . . . clearly and strategically focus our resources on keeping our promises to fund the core services of government," said Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The Senate approved a different version of the budget Thursday, meaning the two chambers will have to work out a compromise before the session ends Feb. 24.

The budget debate has become an annual ritual in Richmond during which lawmakers try to put their imprint on the spending plan by fighting for their pet projects. The 2006-08 budget was approved last year, but lawmakers and Kaine are trying to make changes to it to spend an unexpected surplus of nearly $1 billion.

Part of this year's discussions have centered on a decision by Gene R. Nichol, president of the College of William and Mary, to remove a cross from the school's historic Wren Chapel.

Last fall, Nichol ordered that the 100-year-old cross be removed to make the chapel more inviting to non-Christians. The decision, which made national news, outraged many alumni and social conservatives who said the cross symbolized the school chapel's Anglican heritage.

To pressure Nichol, Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) sponsored an amendment to the budget to strip him of about half of his $331,000 annual salary if the cross is not returned to the chapel by summer.

"This is not intimidating. Only Dracula would shrink from it. We need to have it put back," Marshall said of the cross, which has been on display at the chapel since the 1930s.

But Democrats joined a dozen Republicans in rejecting the amendment, arguing that the General Assembly should not micromanage decisions made by the state's colleges and universities. The House then approved a budget amendment requiring the William and Mary Board of Visitors establish a task force to study the issue.

The school sent out a statement Thursday saying the board of visitors has begun exploring whether the cross should be put back.

The debate over funding for Kaine's pre-kindergarten and open space initiatives also prompted significant discussion.