Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 25, 1994 TAG: 9401250051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Clearing that hurdle could become so time-consuming it could kill plans in Roanoke County to hold the area's first round of school board elections this fall.
Montgomery County, which does not plan to hold elections until 1995, could run into even bigger trouble: It could lose its right to elect school board members if the Justice Department determines that doing so would dilute minority representation.
Under the federal Voting Rights Act, Virginia localities may not create or change their voting plans without first getting clearance from the Justice Department. The stipulation - a protection for minority voting rights - stems from Virginia's history of racial discrimination.
Under the law, a locality may not make changes that would dilute the voting strength of minorities. That could spell trouble for Montgomery County, whose one black school board member appears poised to lose his seat under the new system.
David Moore, who represents Christiansburg, is one of two board members in Montgomery County representing towns that are also covered by the county's seven election districts. People living in Christiansburg and Blacksburg are represented twice: by their town's board member, and by the board member representing the election district of which they are part.
Once the county begins electing its school board members, it will have to remove that dual representation under the "one man, one vote" principle, or create two at-large seats.
But that is not the only problem. The Justice Department traditionally frowns on at-large seats, because such seats can make it more difficult for minorities to get elected. And Virginia law calls for the number of school board members to match that of the governing body. The School Board now has nine members; the Board of Supervisors has seven.
That leaves no room for Moore and School Board Chairman Roy Vickers, who represents Blacksburg. There is no legal problem in removing Vickers' seat - Vickers is white. But Moore is black, and if the Justice Department perceives the removal of his seat as having the effect of diluting minority voting strength - whether racially motivated or not - it could refuse to approve the switch.
"Theoretically, they could," said Charles Cooper, an attorney for the Washington, D.C.-based firm of Shaw, Pittman, Potts and Trowbridge. Cooper, a former Justice Department lawyer, spoke to about 200 local government officials and school board members at the Richmond Marriott last week about how to get their election plans approved.
Asked during a telephone interview Monday about Montgomery County's dilemma, Cooper said the Justice Department has the authority to reverse the voter referendum that approved the switch from an appointed to an elected school board.
"There are some that believe they would do that in a situation like this," he said.
But Cooper's not so sure the Justice Department will go that far, since Montgomery County has such a small minority population. According to the 1990 census, there are 60,727 voting-age residents in the county; about one in 30 is black.
Montgomery County Attorney Roy Thorpe said the Board of Supervisors would consider minority representation when drafting its plan for the Justice Department, an issue it took up during a closed-door session Monday night.
He said the county had not yet decided how it would resolve the issue.
Roanoke County - which has no black School Board members and a minority population of less than 3 percent - will likely have little trouble getting its plan approved by the Justice Department. The question is, can it do so in time for candidates to get their names on the November ballot?
County Attorney Paul Mahoney said he is worried about a May filing deadline for people who want to run this fall. Roanoke County hopes to elect three of its board members in November and the remaining two in 1995.
The county still has not completely cleared another hurdle - the General Assembly. As one of two counties in the state with its own charter, it must first get approval from the state legislature before making a change to its School Board selection process.
The Justice Department will not even consider the School Board plan until it passes the General Assembly, Mahoney said. While the charter bill has passed the Senate, it still must pass the House and be signed into law by Gov. George Allen.
State Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County and one of the bill's sponsors, said he expects it to become law by the end of February. But Mahoney worries about what might happen if something delays the bill's passage until March or April, leaving him only one month to get the plan past the Justice Department.
By law, the Justice Department has 60 days to make a decision. If it has any questions, however minor, it may delay a decision for 60 more days.
"There's a remote possibility at this stage" that the plan won't make it through the Justice Department in time for the May deadline and fall elections, Mahoney said.
He said he is going to send the plan - without General Assembly approval - to the Justice Department this week despite a federal law clearly stating it cannot be considered without the legislative stamp of approval.
"I don't think I have the luxury of waiting," Mahoney said. "I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't."
What frustrates him most is that two years ago he sent the county's voting districts - the same ones the School Board will use - to the Justice Department for approval, and they passed without a hitch.
"It's an academic exercise for us," Mahoney said. "It's a paper chase."
Staff writer Brian Kelley contributed to this story.
by CNB