THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 19, 1995 TAG: 9512190384
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Eleven candidates are vying for five seats in today's School Board election, the first in the city's history.
Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
A dispute with the U.S. Justice Department over whether board members would be elected at large was resolved this summer, forcing the city to set today's date for the at-large election.
Low-budget - and mostly low-key - campaigns belied some expectations. But school crowding emerged as a key issue in a district where mobile classroom ``villages'' practically surround many schools. About 35,000 students attend city schools.
Four incumbents are on the ballot.
In May, residents will return to the polls to elect candidates to fill four other board seats. If challengers sweep both elections, the nine-member board could have all new faces by next spring.
Candidates had until Nov. 20 to announce their plans to run, which left little time to woo voters or organize major fund-raising efforts during the holiday season and on the heels of last month's General Assembly election.
Few anticipate a large turn-out.
``I hate to put a damper on things, I'll be honest with you. But we are anticipating about a 25 percent turnout - more or less,'' said Virginia Garrett, the city's voter registrar. About 29 percent of the city's electorate voted in last year's City Council race.
``Voter turnout is my greatest concern; I feel the timing is bad,'' said Shirley Forbes, education committee chairwoman for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce's Chesapeake division.
``I'm concerned that if there's a low voter turnout, as everyone has predicted, then the people elected may not be a fair representation of the parents, the educators, the children,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: LIVE TV
Coverage of the election results can be seen on WCTV, channel 23,
TCI cable.
[For a copy of the INFOLINE box, see microfilm.]
KEYWORDS: ELECTION CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD by CNB