THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411100165
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 158 lines
City voters approved on Tuesday the switch from an appointed to an elected School Board by a nearly 4-to-1 margin.
The first board elections in Virginia - including those in Newport News, Suffolk and Virginia Beach - were held in May. At least 63 counties are scheduled to hold school board elections next year. Only 37 of the state's 136 cities and counties have not considered the issue.
In Feb. 1992, the legislature voted to make the matter a local option. Each jurisdiction is required to collect signatures from 10 percent of the electorate to get the question on the ballot.
What can Portsmouth residents expect next? Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions:
Q: When is Portsmouth's first School Board election to be held?
A: The election is scheduled for May 1996. The City Council and School Board elections will be held simultaneously.
Q: How many School Board seats will be up for election ?
A: A total of six. The terms of three board members expire in 1996: Vice Chairman James E. Bridgeford, Lawrence W. I'Anson Jr. and Louise G. ``Sis'' Walden. Three School Board members' seats are up for appointment next year: Richard B. Crawford, Evelyn P. Hyman and Elder Charles Bowens II. Those appointed next year, however, will serve only until June 30, 1996. Board members elected in 1996 will replace them. The board has nine members; three members were appointed (or re-appointed) last summer.
Q: Are city voters stuck with an elected board if things don't work out?
A: No. State law allows voters to change their minds. Voters can hold a referendum to revert from an elected system to an appointed system. But state law says a school board referendum cannot follow a previous one in the same locality for four years.
Q: What role will the U.S. Justice Department play?
A: Because Virginia has a history of voting-rights abuses, the federal Justice Department must approve the City Council's plan for electing board members. Under the current system, Portsmouth School Board members must initially be elected on the same basis on which they were appointed - at-large. But Portsmouth's at-large City Council may establish districts or wards for the School Board, according to the state Board of Elections.
The Justice Department will have the final say, however.
It's up to the department to determine whether the method of electing board members would be fair to racial minorities. If the department doesn't approve the city's plan, it could order the city to create a ward system or a mixed system in which some public officials would be elected at-large and some by wards.
Ultimately, the department could overturn the way all public officials are elected in the city.
In June, for instance, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division found that Chesapeake's at-large City Council elections showed a pattern of racial polarization, and therefore at-large elections would not be permitted to choose School Board members in that city.
While the Justice Department can reject the plan, it can't force wards or any other plan on a city. But it could try to force the city to adopt wards for council elections by filing a lawsuit under a separate law. The threat of a lawsuit compelled the Newport News council last month to change the way it is elected.
Q: What criteria does the Justice Department use in deciding?
A: It considers four key factors when reviewing electoral plans in a locality:
The extent to which minorities have been denied an ``equal opportunity to participate meaningfully in the political process.''
The extent to which minorities have been denied ``an equal opportunity to influence elections and the decision-making of elected officials.''
The extent of racially polarized voting and of racial segregation of political activities.
The extent to which past discrimination has ``adversely affected'' voter registration and election participation among minority voters.
Q: Will board members' terms be the same as council members' terms?
A: Yes. The terms of elected board members must be the same as those of council members, according to state law. Portsmouth City Council members are now elected for four-year terms.
Q: Will board members have the power to tax?
A: No. Unlike most states, where school boards have the power to tax to raise money for public schools, Virginia's law gives only city or county governing bodies that power. States such as Florida have limited how much boards can tax. Other states, during tough times, can force boards to freeze their budgets. Virginia school boards will still get money from city or county governing bodies.
Q: Who can run for the board?
A: To run for local office, you must:
Be at least 18 by the May 1996 election.
Be a registered voter. That means you can't be a felon or someone who has ever been deemed mentally incompetent by a court.
Be a United States citizen.
Have been a Virginia resident for at least a year on Election Day.
Be a Portsmouth resident.
Q: Where can I get more information if I decide to run for a board seat?
A: State election officials have put together a guide for those interested in running for office. You can get one by calling 1-800-552-9745. MEMO: Voices in the Community:
``An elected board has to answer to the public more because we're
electing the board members. Maybe an elected board will have somebody
from every area in the city so each school will be equally
represented.''
Helen Sasser
Cradock resident and PTA activist
It gives people more of a voice in government. G3QA Brian Nance It
makes the process more accountable and responsible.''
Brian ``Keith'' Nance
Leader of the Park Manor Civic League and Portsmouth Citizens for
Better Education group, which spearheaded the petition drive last year.
We need elected school boards because the people need a person they
believe in, and they show how much they believe in them by casting their
vote for that person.''
Brian F. Melchor
Member of the Board of Directors for the state NAACP and leader
within the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People.
I guess if (the board) weren't controlled by council, in terms of how
much money is spent, it G4QA Louise Walden might make a difference. We
all have the right to choose, but I think (an elected School Board) will
keep good people from running because it could become more political.
But I think it's got to be . . . I think it's the wave of where things
are going.''
Louise G. ``Sis'' Walden
School Board member
I hope we don't see it become too political. I hope we see good
people run, G5QA Rose Council people who will be caring and who will
put the welfare of our children ahead of everything else. I don't want
to see somebody use (the elected board) as a steppingstone'' to City
Council or another office.
Rose Council
Former PTA Council leader
Related election story on page 9.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Voters cast their ballots at Lakeview Elementary School, where 76
percent of the eligible voters turned out.
Staff photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA
Helen Sasser, carrying sign that reads ``Parents for Public Plan of
Action,'' favors elected school boards.
Photos
Brian Nance
Louise Walden
Rose Council
KEYWORDS: ELECTION RESULTS ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD PORTSMOUTH
SCHOOL BOARD by CNB