Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 24, 1993 TAG: 9310220014
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
\ Q. How many places in Virginia have voted to change from appointed to elected school boards?
A. Last year, 42 counties, cities and towns approved elected school boards. The issue has passed in every locality where it appeared on the ballot. On Nov. 2, 35 localities - including Montgomery, Giles and Floyd in the New River Valley - will vote on the question. Pulaski County approved an elected school board last year.
\ Q. So how are elected school boards working out elsewhere in Virginia?
A. No one knows. The law says school boards can't be elected until 1994.
\ Q. If a change is approved in Montgomery County, when will the first School Board member be elected?
A. Not until 1995.
\ Q. Why so late?
A. Because the law says school board members will be up for election at the same time as members of board of supervisors in their districts, and the next supervisors' election won't be until November 1995.
\ Q. What if a school board member's appointed term doesn't coincide with a supervisor's? Say a school board member's term is up in 1996, and the supervisor's term ends in 1995?
A. Then the school board member has to run a year early. School board elections have to conform to those of the governing body - in this case, the board of supervisors.
\ Q. In Montgomery County, the Board of Supervisors has seven members, and the School Board has nine. What happens to the two additional School Board members?
A. The size of the School Board will remain the same. As to when those additional School Board members - who are at-large members from Christiansburg and Blacksburg - will be up for election, that's a good question. Nobody knows for sure. That's one of the loopholes in the new law yet to be closed.
\ Q. Won't elected school boards be subject to more political pressure?
A. Politics will definitely be a greater part of running for a school board seat. Whether that's bad or good is a matter of debate. Supporters of the present appointment system believe that method insulates the candidates from pressure groups and political ambitions. Backers of elected boards say running for a seat is a good thing, because it focuses attention on issues and increases community involvement in schools.
\ Q. Will fewer potential school board members seek office if they have to run for the seat instead of being appointed?
A. Many people believe so. Candidates for school board will have to follow the same rules as anyone else who runs for public office. They'll have to file campaign finance reports and be comfortable with the fact they have a higher public profile. That may turn off qualified candidates who would otherwise accept an appointment. On the other hand, the law says anyone who is a registered voter and a one-year resident of the election district can run for a school board seat. Supporters of elected school boards say this will create a greater source of candidates. And they say the only candidates who object to full disclosure are those with something to hide.
\ Q. What will be different about running for the school board instead of seeking an appointment?
A. Getting appointed to the school board is similar to seeking a job. The governmental body advertises a vacancy when a board member's term expires. Anyone interested can submit an application. The board of supervisors then conducts an interview before making the selection. Under the elected system, a potential candidate must submit a petition signed by at least 125 registered voters. These candidates have to act on their own - they cannot be nominated by primary elections or by political party nomination.
\ Q. How will having an elected school board influence school finances? Will it raise or lower taxes?
A. Financially, the present system will continue - the school board will propose the school system's annual budget, but the financial decision still rests in the board of supervisors' hands. In other states, school boards have independent taxing authority to raise revenue for schools. Virginia law doesn't allow that.
\ Q. Will the working relationship between the board of supervisors and an elected school board be better or worse?
A. Advocates of appointed boards say the relationship will be worse if school board members are elected. School board members who are appointed owe their jobs to the supervisors. Elected school board members will be less likely to cooperate, which only hurts the school system, they say. Proponents of changing the system say elected school board members will independently stand up for schools and students.
\ Q. Which system will result in better school boards?
A. Some say appointed boards, because members are chosen by qualifications and performance rather than campaign promises. Others say elected boards will reflect the attitudes of parents of schoolchildren and taxpayers who fund the school budget.
\ Q. What if the voters change the process and then decide it doesn't work?
A. It can be put to another vote in four years.
with additional questions can borrow a videotape of last month's community forum on the issue of elected vs. appointed school boards from public libraries in Montgomery County, Floyd County or Radford. Copies have also been placed in the libraries of all four Montgomery County high schools.
by CNB