Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990                   TAG: 9004180055
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV7   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MARGARET CAMLIN NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER LIMITS HIS RESPONSE ON DODGE

The supervisors also met with Guy Tudor, a Blacksburg engineer who has applied for Lacy's District G seat.

In questioning Lacy, Supervisor James Moore said that some teachers are intimidated by Superintendent Harold Dodge and are afraid to voice their opinions.

Lacy replied that some degree of fear among staff is not uncommon in Virginia school systems where superintendents have a great deal of authority over personnel. "There will always be that fear," he said. "Beyond that, I feel I shouldn't comment on whether it's stronger here."

Supervisor Joe Stewart said he had lived in the county a long time and "I've never before heard a teacher say, `We're afraid to say anything.'

"Something's wrong," Stewart added, asking Lacy to comment.

Lacy declined: "It's tough to comment as a sitting board member." Any comment he made would be a personnel statement, he said, which would be inappropriate since he is still on the board.

Stewart then laughingly suggested that the entire school board come in and talk to the supervisors about it.

When asked about the grievance process for employees, Lacy said it "is fair, if people want to use it."

He said the pending case of Fran Weiss, a Shawsville High School guidance counselor, is the first time a grievance has "bubbled up to the board level" in his four years.

Moore asked how the board decides whether it is interfering with the superintendent's job.

The board stays away from personnel decisions and day-to-day operations, Lacy answered, but controls policy. It holds the superintendent accountable for "any and all decisions."

Moore asked if the board made a wise decision in removing School Board member James Hassall from the governing board of a regional magnet school to be located in Pulaski County.

Lacy corrected Moore and said Montgomery County can still have observer status on the governing board. But after deciding not to send students to the magnet school, the School Board voted two weeks ago to take away Hassall's right to vote on the governing board.

" . . . if we're not going to put any stakes on the table, it's not appropriate for us to be making decisions or voting," he said.

Lacy told the supervisors he wanted to continue serving on the School Board to help resolve such problems as overcrowding in the elementary schools and funding for an alternative school for potential dropouts.

If the county builds only one new school, then it should be in Christiansburg where it could handle the overflow of 400 children from Christiansburg's two schools, he said.

Lacy said he regretted that the board could not come up with money for school buses this year or fringe benefits for custodial workers and bus drivers.

After Lacy's interview, candidate Tudor told the supervisors he would be a "citizen representative" on the board, rather than someone coming in with an agenda for changing the school system.

As a board member he would encourage more parent participation in the schools, he said.

He said he fully supported athletic programs, but "one of the strongest things we can do is . . . emphasize there is life beyond high school athletics."

Tudor said his top priority is serving a "living God." But he does not want to impose his religious beliefs and morals on others, he added.

When asked by Supervisor Henry Jablonski what he thought of merit pay for teachers, Tudor said he thought it should be limited.

When asked by Supervisor Ira Long how he felt about consolidating the county's high schools, Tudor said he thought community schools should be kept intact.

A recent proposal to require high school seniors to pass exit exams before letting them graduate is a bad idea, he said, adding that evaluations should be done earlier than the senior year.

Board member Robert Goncz, District B, is seeking reappointment unopposed and will be interviewed next Monday.