THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512220003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Chesapeake's first school-board election, last Tuesday, was puzzling.
With five of the nine board seats up for grabs, only about one in nine registered voters voted. The biggest winner got 5,245 votes in a city of 181,000. One candidate was elected with 3,611 votes.
And what those one-in-nine voters chose was more of the same, as all four incumbents running were elected.
What's puzzling is that in 1993, by an overwhelming margin, Chesapeake voters supported a switch to an elected School Board. Previously City Council had appointed School Board members. It appeared that voters sought more say in school policy and, presumably, change.
Yet Tuesday's results indicated apathy on the part of many and acceptance of the status quo by those who did bother to vote. Three factors contributed to the dismal turnout:
(1) Crummy weather.
(2) Christmas crush.
(3) A state law requiring that the city plan and complete the election 90 days after U.S. Justice Department approval. (The department was involved because it first challenged, then approved, having each board member represent the whole city, rather than a district within the city.)
Nothing can be done about the weather, and it's too late to help Chesapeake, but state law should be changed to extend the time allowed before such an election is held elsewhere. Challengers had too little time to crank up campaigns, and the election occurred at the worst possible time for a good turnout.
Still, after all the possible excuses are made, it remains true that the education of children matters as much as anything we can think of. Yet in an election giving citizens a voice in directing that education, the turnout was disheartening by any standard.
The remaining four board seats will be voted on in May. If only one in nine residents can rouse him- or herself to vote, the gates are wide open for a fringe group espousing who knows what to gain nearly half of the board seats.
When Chesapeake voters chose to elect School Board members, they assumed the responsibility to vote in School Board elections. They failed to live up to that responsibility on Tuesday. by CNB