THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 24, 1994 TAG: 9410240049
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: HICKORY LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
A growing number of conservative Christians are running for school boards across the state, and some school officials are worried about the trend.
One candidate running for a seat on the Catawba County School Board, Tim Goff, doesn't believe public school students should be taught about cultures other than America's.
He does believe students should be allowed to lead prayer in school and that schools should teach abstinence-based sex education. Educators, he said, should stick to teaching traditional ``American values.''
The 32-year-old engineer is one of a number of political newcomers seeking election to local school boards.
``It's a trend in the state and nationally, as well,'' said Michael Lienesch, a political science professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. ``It's part of a change in the Christian right, a shift in strategy from national politics to state and local politics.''
Eleven of 43 candidates running for the Catawba, Cabarrus and Gaston county school boards in the Nov. 8 election are stressing conservative Christian beliefs in their campaigns, The Charlotte Observer reported.
In Gaston County, five religious conservatives are running as a group against 14 other candidates for five seats on the School Board.
Two weeks ago in Cabarrus County, four religious conservatives announced they were running as a ``Team of Four'' for the Cabarrus County Board of Education.
The group of candidates has welcomed the backing of David Drye, a former Christian Coalition organizer who criticized school officials this year for stopping students from distributing religious tracts at a school. The tracts included one that stated Catholicism and Judaism were religions of the devil.
Goff and three of the other candidates in Catawba County are active in the Christian Coalition, founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. The coalition holds leadership seminars that teach precinct organization and encourage members to run for office.
A number of candidates also draw support from their individual churches.
Vince Isenhour, chairman of the Catawba County chapter of the Christian Coalition, said his chapter cannot endorse candidates because it is a nonpartisan organization, but can exercise its influence in other ways.
``Our organization is a pro-family, pro-Christian organization, and it's easy to identify a candidate who is pro-family and Christian,'' he said.
In a special primary for a vacant seat last month, Goff received twice as many votes as the next highest vote-getter.
The emergence of the coalition in Catawba County comes as the group's membership has grown statewide from 10 chapters to 40 during the past year.
Across the state, the coalition has surveyed candidates on issues ranging from school prayer to sex education and mailed their answers to prospective voters.
In the final days of the 1990 U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, it distributed hundreds of thousands of scorecards comparing the record of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms with that of his Democratic opponent, Harvey Gantt. Helms narrowly won the race.
Some school officials worry what will happen if the conservative Christian candidates are successful this fall. They say the political newcomers could derail progressive changes and create frequent clashes over whether curriculums represent Christian values.
``It would throw public education into absolute chaos,'' said Roger Stowe, a Gaston County School Board member. ``They are extremely well-organized, and they're working very hard.''
But Rick Lail, a conservative Christian who is running for the Gaston County School Board, said he and others don't want to install a Christian agenda.
``Our biggest thing is that if you're not going to teach Christianity in the schools, you're not going to be able to teach against that either,'' he said.
KEYWORDS: CHRISTIAN COALITION SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS CANDIDATES by CNB