Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 27, 1994 TAG: 9403010193
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Regarding the redistricting process, the redistricting committee chairman and anonymous committee members have undermined the possible achievement of smooth, widely accepted and obviously necessary redistricting of the Blacksburg community by ignoring a fundamental political precept: If you want the public to be satisfied and supportive then you must involve the public as much as possible from the beginning. It's a shame the redistricting process proceeded the way it did. The exciting opening of a new school should not need to place stress and hardship on so many residents. The covert, and then defensive, operational mode of the committee has resulted in a plan that evens out enrollment numbers and equity needs but certainly without the ingenuity and finesse required to satisfy the Blacksburg community as a whole.
The implications of the redistricting are so far reaching that an approach such as that exemplified by Focus 2006 would have been more appropriate. By the time the redistricting proposal reached the public it was not, as implied, a proposal to the community but rather a proposal to the Montgomery County School Board. You can imagine how helpless and frustrated those dissatisfied by the proposal must feel. Since the proposal must be approved by the School Board it is to the board that we appeal.
Regarding the situation for Catawba Valley residents, the proposed redistricting mandates that Catawba Valley children be cut off by the new district line from their neighbors in the Harding Avenue and Mount Tabor areas and will be bused on a longer, and more importantly, dangerous route over the narrow crumbling Nellies Cave Road to a school that is farther away than the one they currently attend. This seems ridiculous to me. There must be alternatives that would still maintain reasonably even enrollment numbers and equity needs.
We would be pleased if the redistricting committee of the School Board would acknowledge the mistake of the Catawba redistricting and set it right by sending the Catawba Valley children back to Harding Avenue Elementary School next fall.
Carol Stone
Blacksburg
Ice storm brought out besto
The ice storm on Feb. 11 brought out the best in the people of Montgomery County. At Warm Hearth Village we were without electricity from Friday morning until Sunday evening. It soon became apparent that power would not be quickly restored. We have back-up generators to provide emergency lighting in the building common areas, but they don't provide enough energy to heat our buildings. So early Saturday we decided we must move our residents to a warmer place and we needed help.
Cooperation and help we received from others was fantastic. The Holiday Inn allowed us to use its entire banquet facilities, including the kitchen, to house and feed our residents at no charge. They even provided dinner on Saturday evening. Blacksburg Transit spent more than 10 hours busing our residents back and forth between Warm Hearth Village and the Holiday Inn. Since our phones were not working, Contel Cellular and Skelton Realty loaned us mobile phones. Virginia Tech loaned us mattresses and several members of the Corps of Cadets brought them to us. And the National Bank of Blacksburg brought snacks for residents.
Many others volunteered their time and energy to help make our residents safe and comfortable during this difficult time. Cutting trees, moving mattresses, running errands, sorting and handling residents' personal belongings, entertaining, conducting worship services and assisting our staff with hands-on care are just a few examples of how they helped. I'm also very proud of our staff and the way they worked extra hours and sacrificed time away from their homes and families, many of which were also without electricity and water.
What started as a severe emergency ended as a huge success because of the efforts of so many. We can truly be proud we are part of such a loving and caring community; one in which we know that our neighbors will come to our rescue when needed. To all who helped Warm Hearth and our residents in our time of need, a big "thank you."
John Sankey, president and CEO of Warm Hearth Village
Blacksburg
Not enough public input
After participating in two of the informational meetings about redistricting the Blacksburg area elementary schools, it is clear to me that the Attendance Line Committee was not sufficiently thorough in investigating implications of redistricting, nor are they allowing sufficient public interaction. The committee's selection and operation leaves grave doubt that democracy is alive and well in the Montgomery County School System. These failings have resulted in widespread community dissatisfaction with the proposed plan.
This letter is concerned primarily with the hardship faced by the families in Catawba Valley. Their children will be cut off from their neighbors in the Harding Avenue and Mount Tabor area and bused a longer distance on a dangerous route to Margaret Beeks Elementary. A better redistricting process could have avoided this absurd plan.
Two of the criteria for evaluating redistricting are: logical boundaries that don't split neighborhoods, and the time involved in transportation. Three roads link Mount Tabor and Catawba into a rural neighborhood that would be split asunder by the redistricting proposal.
With regard to time, the committee measured the trip by driving a car rather than a bus and never consulted with the bus drivers. The children at the far end of Catawba Valley already travel approximately 50 minutes on the bus to get to Harding Avenue Elementary School which is closer than Margaret Beeks. Isn't two hours out of a child's day enough of a sacrifice to the public school transportation problem?
I am also concerned with the selection process for the committee, the method under which it operated, and the notable lack of interest on its part in public feedback. I know more about the lunch schedule than the "advertisement" for volunteers.
As evidenced by the stern attitude of the chairman regarding not making any exceptions to the existing redistricting proposal, the public has been cut out of the review process. A simple solution would be for the committee, which can continue to remain anonymous, to review issues raised in the public information meetings. Then the chairman can present an amended proposal at a subsequent public meeting prior to presentation to the School Board. If such a review does not occur and the School Board is overwhelmed by opposition on March 1, the animosity which seems to be festering would have been further aggravated. Compare this to the goodwill potential if a voluntary public review effort were initiated.
Bob Wright
Blacksburg
Why a consultant to gauge morale?
It would seem to me that the Montgomery County school superintendent would be in a better position to evaluate the morale of the schools' professional staff than a hired consultant who is not in day-to-day contact with the system.
I wonder if the contract price quoted as a professional discount would be indicative of the services rendered? Would it not have been more appropriate and professional to give the services requested to the school district?
Finally, when the survey is completed, I would like to know what corrective action the Montgomery County School Board would take to enhance the morale conditions.
Bob Kreamalmeyer
Christiansburg
by CNB