Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 19, 1993 TAG: 9301190245
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
HOLIDAY NAMES NO BIG ISSUE, CANDIDATES SAY
The issue of Christian holiday names didn't get much attention as three School Board candidates were interviewed by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Monday night.Supervisor Jim Moore of Blacksburg pointedly asked School Board candidates Robert Anderson and Phillip Gilley if the holiday-name controversy played a role in their decision to run. Both said it did not. The third candidate interviewed, Anne Greene, was not asked her position but did not bring up the issue.
The supervisors are hunting for a replacement for former board Chairman Daniel Schneck, who resigned the Christiansburg spot on the School Board, in part because of the holiday-name controversy.
The supervisors will interview four more School Board candidates - Mike Sowder, David Moore, Cynthia Jennison, and Mark Helms - Wednesday night and will hold a public hearing on all seven candidates on Feb. 8.
Anderson, 33, said he was urged to seek the board seat by concerned parents and children.
The operator of the Straight Street Teen Center in Christiansburg, Anderson is a graduate of a Montgomery County Bible college and is the son-in-law of John LeDoux, chairman of the county chapter of the Rev. Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition.
LeDoux has been a leader in the effort to get the county to return to the Christian names of Christmas and Easter on the school calendar. Anderson, however, said his father-in-law's role in that recent controversy had nothing to do with his decision to run for the School Board. He told supervisors he started thinking about getting involved in local government a year ago.
"I believe, first off, that Montgomery County's school system is doing an awesome job; but there's always room for improvement," Anderson said.
Anderson's child, however, attends private school. His wife teaches at Day Spring, a private school in Blacksburg, where tuition is free for his daughter, Anderson said.
The biggest problem facing children today is lack of self-esteem, Anderson said in response to a question from Christiansburg Supervisor Nick Rush. Anderson said more parents need to get involved with education.
Gilley, 41, an insurance salesman, said that peer pressure is the biggest problem children have to deal with. Children had to deal with peer pressure in the past but didn't have some of the same choices, such as sex and drugs, that today's children have to face, he said.
Gilley, who has a daughter in Christiansburg Middle School, said he was pleased with the curriculum in the county school system. The dropout rate could be addressed by providing more activities that would encourage kids to stay in school.
Gilley, who completed a year of community college, said he felt his business background and his role as a parent would be an asset on the School Board.
Greene, 39, told supervisors that a society can be judged by the way it treats its children. The county needs to prepare its children for the 21st century, she said.
The county's teachers are one of the school system's strong points, she said.
The mother of two children in Christiansburg Elementary School, Greene said the toughest problem facing children is "simply making the right decisions."
Anderson and Gilley said they would be willing to make the tough budget decisions dictated by tough economic times. Gilley said she would make responsible budget decisions but refused to be pinned down by Rush, who asked the candidates if they would leave the burden of cutting the school budget to the supervisors as happened last year.
Both Anderson and Gilley said they might run for the School Board if it was an elected office. Greene said she probably would not.
In other action Monday night, the board passed a resolution expressing its appreciation of Schneck's service on the School Board.
Schneck resigned in December after the supervisors passed a resolution opposing a School Board policy, which Schneck supported, eliminating religious holiday names. Schneck of Christiansburg, who was chairman when he resigned, had joined the School Board in August of 1990.
Supervisor Joe Stewart cast the sole vote in opposition to the Schneck resolution, which had been pulled from the supervisors' "consent" agenda at Stewart's request.
"There's just some things I don't like about it," Stewart said. "I didn't vote for him [to be a School Board member] to start with."
The supervisors also:
Approved the purchase of a mechanized endorsement stamp for the treasurer's office, which should help speed up the deposit of tax payments.
Tabled a motion to appropriate $34,333 for an access road for New River Community College after County Administrator Betty Thomas raised concerns that other valley localities were not being asked to contribute.