Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 23, 1993 TAG: 9302230268
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
1ST BLACK CHOSEN FOR BOARD
David R. Moore, a calibration technician with Corning Inc., has become the first black resident to hold a seat on the Montgomery County School Board.Moore's was the only name placed in nomination for the School Board seat Tuesday night following a short closed-door session by the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors Nick Rush nominated Moore and the vote was unanimous.
Moore will fill out the unexpired term of Daniel Schneck, who represented the town of Christiansburg on the board. Schneck resigned in December after a public controversy developed involving sensitivity to minorities in the naming of school holidays.
"We're real happy about that," was the reaction of John Hairston of Christiansburg, a former president of the county NAACP, on hearing the news of Moore's appointment. "It shows how our county is growing."
Moore, 32, is a graduate of Bluefield State College in electrical engineeering technology and former member of the West Virginia National Guard.
He is a member of Schaeffer Memorial Baptist Church, where he is a deacon and assistant Sunday school superintendent. He has a stepdaughter who attends Christiansburg High School.
Moore said he was looking forward to jumping right in to the School Board's search for a new superintendent. He'll get that chance when the board deliberates tonight over the two finalists for the job.
He also joins the board at a critical point in the development of next year's school budget. Apparently unhappy with three budget alternatives sent to them, the supervisors have asked the School Board to provide a budget by tonight no higher than last year's $41.3 million document with the exception of enough additional money to pay the debt payment on a new Blacksburg elementary school.
Moore told the supervisors when he was interviewed last month that he would approach the school budget with the idea of having the highest quality product at the lowest possible cost.
One of the biggest problems facing county graduates he said is the lack of social skills, particularly as the population becomes more diverse.
Moore was chosen from a field of seven candidates that included former School Board Member Mike Sowder, who had the endorsement of the county's teachers.
His term on the board will expire June 30, when he said he intends to apply for reappointment to a full four-year term.
In other action Monday night, the supervisors:
Again heard from several residents of the Bradshaw Valley and Ironto area who oppose the possible location of a new county landfill in their area. The residents once again asked the supervisors to declare their intent about locating a landfill near them and again the board refused, citing an exemption in the state's freedom-of-information law.
Gave approval to the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library board to declare its intent to apply to the state for Library Services Construction Act funds to build a new branch library in Blacksburg. The notice of intent is due by Friday.