Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510230022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
About 65 people sat scattered in a sea of blue folding chairs in the high school auditorium for a Montgomery County School Board forum.
"Shame on the people that didn't show up tonight," said Dick Edwards, who is running for another term as the District F representative. "If you're really interested and want involvement, then let's get involved."
Nine of the 10 candidates spoke in the forum, which was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the County Council of Parent Teacher Associations. Victor Sheppard, who is running for the District B seat, had alerted the sponsors previously that he could not attend because he had to work a night shift at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant.
During the two-hour forum which was packed with audience questions, candidates revealed as many similarities in their goals for education as differences.
They all took the same basic stance on the first question, which dealt with school prayer, despite their varied religious activities which range from teaching Sunday school to heading the local Christian Coalition.
The issue is not individual prayer, said District G challenger Wat Hopkins, but corporate prayer. Candidates agreed that allowing a moment of silence for individuals to pray, as long as it wasn't initiated by the school, is and should be allowed.
"I must say that of the close to 800 people I've talked to while campaigning door to door, only two people asked me about it," said Bernie Jortner, who's running in District B. "Whether students pray in school is not an issue with them."
Candidates also agreed that the School Board needs to make sure regular students are challenged, not just those who benefit from special programs like inclusion, where children with disabilities attend regular classes, or the gifted and talented program.
District F challenger Jim Klagge said "inclusion does present a danger that some students would fall through the cracks. That's why I think smaller class size is so important to give adequate attention to all the students."
There also needs to be more attention placed on students not headed for college, said District B candidate Bob Anderson. Trade school captured his attention and kept him in school and should be strengthened in today's system, he said.
The third challenger in District B, Oscar Williams, said there needs to be greater access to technology and other programs for rural areas of the county.
"We need to make sure that children not fortunate enough to live here [in Blacksburg] are not falling through the cracks as well," he said.
Responses differed on a question addressing the School Board's struggle with the Board of Supervisors last year during budget negotiations.
Anderson suggested coming up with creative ideas for fund raising like tapping into business contributions.
Overhead and middle management, said District B candidate Jack LeDoux, could be reduced significantly as well.
"I'm not sure that we need assistant principals. When I was in school we had one principal who did everything. I'm not sure throwing money at schools is the answer," he said.
Peggy Arrington, who is trying to maintain her seat as the District G representative, defended the board's decision to give teachers a smaller pay raise and hire new teachers to lower pupil-teacher ratios - the number one priority in Focus 2006.
"I was looking at the entire budget [last year] and there simply wasn't enough money," she said.
Making choices on what will be funded is not a pleasant task, she said, but the board needs to balance teacher needs with the goals set by the county.
Evaluating student performance also generated a wide range of responses.
Edwards said the schools need to talk to employers and universities to find out how well the schools are preparing students for the future.
Mike Smith, the third candidate for District E, said the tools to evaluate performance are already in place at the schools.
"Site-based decision making allows the schools to see where we're doing well and make decisions on what problems we need to work on," he said.
LeDoux even suggested using video cameras to help teachers evaluate their performances.
Only a few sparks flew in an otherwise friendly discourse. During a discussion of family life curriculum, District B candidate Anderson said the National Education Association was "demanding that homosexuality be taught in the curriculum."
His opponent, Jortner, challenged that statement, saying that Montgomery County Schools only mention homosexuality as an alternative choice. Jortner said he supports the current curriculum.
Keywords:
POLITICS
Memo: ***CORRECTION***