Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 12, 1994 TAG: 9403120122
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The three latest applicants are: Wendy O'Neil, an incumbent; Marsha Ellison, a Parent Teacher Association leader; and Robert Ross, a dentist and PTA member.
O'Neil, executive director of the YWCA of the Roanoke Valley and vice chairwoman of the School Board, is seeking her second three-year term.
Ellison, president of the Central Council PTA, is making her first try for an appointed or elected public post. Ellison has two children in city schools.
Ross, another first-time applicant, says his interest in education has been renewed because he, too, has two children in city schools.
Friday was the deadline for applications.
The three earlier applicants were: James Beatty, city personnel administrator; Marilyn Curtis, an incumbent who is seeking her third term; and John Saunders, a partner in Princeton Associates, an investment and management company.
Incumbent James Turner is ineligible for reappointment because he has served three terms.
City Council will make the appointments in early May after publicly interviewing the applicants in April.
City Attorney Wilburn Dibling said Friday he has determined there would be no conflict of interest or incompatibility if Beatty, a city employee, served the board.
O'Neil is a former teacher who has been active in educational and community organizations. She is a former director of educational partnerships for city schools.
A graduate of Catholic University, O'Neil helped obtain corporate gifts and federal and state grants - including a magnet school grant - while she was partnership director.
She said her background as a teacher, her educational and management skills and her experience as a board member would be helpful if she were reappointed.
Ellison, a graduate of Hollins College, has been active in the PTA for a decade. She has also served on the School Board's Long Range Planning Committee, the Roanoke Schools Budget Advisory Council and the Roanoke Valley and Drug Abuse Council.
Ellison said her experience in volunteer and committee work would be beneficial if she became a board member. She knows many school administrators, principals and teachers.
Ross cited his training and background, including his experience as a substitute teacher while he was studying dentistry. Ross is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and the Medical College of Virginia.
Ross is a member of the Bradley Free Clinic's board of directors and the Advisory Committee for Dental Hygiene at Virginia Western Community College.
by CNB