THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604260612
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Decision '96
Discussion
SOURCE: By TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 132 lines
Better money management. ``Getting back to basics.'' Local control of the schools. Higher reading scores.
Which parents want the upcoming School Board elections to help make these things happen in Virginia Beach schools?
``All parents,'' you'd probably say.
OK, what about these? Prayer in the classroom. Less ``federal intrusion.'' Allowing creationism to be taught.
No doubt about it, right? That's the agenda of a Christian conservative.
The question is, when does one kind of parent become the other kind? And how much does it matter to you?
With Regent University and CBN in the city, and the Christian Coalition's national headquarters close by in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach is one of the nerve centers of the Christian right nationally. Local Christian conservatives would like to make their presence felt on the School Board.
Before the May 7 election, Christian conservatives will make endorsements, get on the phones and man the polls to get their message out.
There is no guarantee they'll be successful. The image of the ``Christian Right'' as a powerful force in local politics was seriously shaken in the 1994 election, when the Christian conservative slate, ``Kids First,'' was defeated across the board. Even a contribution of $15,000 from Pat Robertson failed to turn the tide.
``Kids First got whomped,'' said Mark Rozell, co-author of ``The Second Coming: The New Christian Right in Virginia Politics.'' That said, Rozell added, ``Christian Right candidates can fare better at the local level where there tends to be less public attention and media coverage than at the state or national levels.''
One of the 1994 candidates, John T. Early Jr., is chairman of Kids First, which is trying again this year to make an impact in the School Board election.
``We're the closest you'll get to religious conservatives speaking with one voice in this election,'' Early said last week.
What, then, do Christian conservative parents and voters want?
Some say their first priority is the same as most Virginia Beach residents: Get the school system's financial books in order, and elect School Board members with sound business credentials.
``We're not looking for a strictly Christian slate,'' Early said. ``We're more concerned with the business and financial mismanagement of the last two years.
``A candidate doesn't necessarily have to pass a social litmus test to get our endorsement.''
Rozell said he doubts that. In other local races around Virginia, he said, he has watched Christian conservatives ``presenting themselves as mainstream conservatives merely concerned about quality education and fiscal responsibility.
``But let's not ignore the fact that these candidates have a social agenda.''
At first, Early referred to Kids First as the ``political arm'' of the Christian Coalition, which does not endorse candidates, but he later added that there is no official connection between them.
Kids First plans to issue its endorsements this week. Early maintained that if the group found a candidate who clearly had a solid business background and management skills, Kids First would be willing to overlook weak support of issues like teaching creationism and allowing school prayer.
``This year we are willing to moderate some in the social end of things,'' Early said. ``Yes, in the long term we do want to address prayer and creationism. But first and foremost has got to be the budgetary problems.''
They may not be speaking with one voice, however. For one thing, it's unclear how many members or how much clout Kids First has. Also, not all Christian conservatives agree with the group's goals this year.
Lou Williams, chairman of the South Hampton Roads chapter of the Christian Coalition, said good financial management is necessary, but not ``the driving force.''
``Values are the No. 1 priority,'' Williams said. ``Financial issues are important, but not number one.
``It's a known fact that education is in trouble. I read that once again Virginia Beach schools' scores had dropped. The disrespect of teachers, the violence in schools, I don't know how you can ignore that.''
He said he didn't know yet whether the Christian Coalition would distribute voter guides during this election.
Kempsville resident Betty Hansel, who has been active in previous elections, said, ``I would hope each of the School Board members would try to find out not only what happened financially, but I think they really need to know what Goals 2000 is all about.
``They should get educated as much as possible about what the National Education Association is trying to bring about.''
That was one thing the Christian conservatives interviewed agreed upon: Goals 2000, the National Education Association, and the Virginia Beach Education Association must be stopped.
Goals 2000 is a federal program that provides money to states to support education. Gov. George F. Allen has refused to accept Goals 2000 money for Virginia, although Congress may yet sidestep his objection and send the money directly to localities. The Virginia Beach School Board has not voted on whether it wants to accept the money.
Supporters of Goals 2000 maintain there are no strings attached by the federal government and that the goals it mentions are universally agreed upon, such as increasing the high school graduation rate to at least 90 percent. Christian conservatives say Goals 2000 is trying to advance a liberal social experiment that would instill certain values in children and force students into certain career tracks at an early age.
They see the NEA and the VBEA as the engines of that effort. Kids First has taken out advertising directly attacking the VBEA, rather than any of the candidates.
Vickie Hendley, president of VBEA, said Early is exaggerating the association's aims for political purposes. She said Kids First needs to caricature her group because, ``It wouldn't put them in quite the light they want to be portrayed if they appeared to be attacking their children's teachers.''
KEYWORDS: COMMUNITY CONVERSATION PUBLIC JOURNALISM ELECTION CHRISTIAN
COALITION
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