Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 24, 1995                   TAG: 9510240041
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ELECTIONS DESERVE MORE INTEREST

Each year, a number of people who are eligible to vote don't even bother to register.

Americans, some say, don't appreciate what a privilege it is to participate in selecting who runs their government.

Local elections tend to draw even less interest. In the 1992 presidential election, for instance, 85 percent of Montgomery County's registered voters actually voted in the election. But in local elections the year before, which included Board of Supervisors, sheriff and clerk of court races, only 61 percent of those registered actually voted.

About 16,500 residents of Pulaski County have registered - about average for the county, says Registrar Phyllis Shanks. And this year's election registration broke a record for Montgomery County: 30,090 people registered to vote, according to Registrar Sandra Chapin.

But you'd never know it if you attended the school board forums in Montgomery and Pulaski counties.

Turnout for both events, held last week, was minimal. The candidates' proclamations of leadership and better education echoed in practically empty school auditoriums.

This is the first time school board elections have been held in this area, and perhaps voters don't understand the implication for their schools.

In Pulaski, where four of the five districts have two candidates vying for each position, the goals and directions set by the board could significantly change.

At the forum held Oct. 16, the four challengers said they would not support consolidating some elementary and middle schools. That goes against what a 40-member task force, made up of county citizens, recommended last year. The School Board hasn't addressed the recommendations yet, but voters could send a strong signal about whether they want consolidation.

In Montgomery County, the four board members elected to represent Districts B, E, F and G in November will dominate the board in two years. Beginning in January 1998, the Blacksburg and Christiansburg positions will be abolished, leaving a seven-member board.

Whether that group will continue with the current initiatives - such as the goals established in Focus 2006 and the 20-year plan to handle increased population and technological demands - depends in large part on this election.

Perhaps voters already had decided who to elect, and didn't need to sit through two hours of candidate speeches. Maybe people aren't so apathetic about what happens in their communities.

In exactly 15 days, we'll find out.