Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 5, 1993 TAG: 9305050224
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Sparks flew at least once, when Supervisor Nick Rush asked candidate Claire McMillan why he - a Republican - should cast his vote for her, a Democrat.
McMillan said the question was "illegal."
Rush countered that McMillan had brought up the subject by mentioning she did volunteer work for the Democratic Party on the resume she gave the board.
He asked her again to answer his question.
"No," McMillan said. "I refuse."
McMillan, a business computer consultant, is one of three candidates for the District E School Board seat. Other candidates are New River Community College instructor Harold Dudley, and the incumbent, Lou Herrmann, whose term expires June 30.
Dudley, a machine technology instructor and retired Electro-Tec Corp. employee, called himself "a taxpayer and citizen who believes in eight hours' pay for eight hours' work." He also is a believer in fiscal responsibility and "moral absolutes," he said.
The last prompted a question from Supervisor Jim Moore: Was School Board Chairman Daniel Schneck right to resign his School Board seat recently over the winter holiday dispute?
"I hope that over a controversy like that, I wouldn't jump up and resign if I had something to contribute," Dudley answered.
Dudley was asked by Supervisor Joe Stewart what he thought of the school system's "Family Life" curriculum - objected to by some for its sexual education content.
"Not very much," Dudley answered. "I approve of the parents teaching children."
Herrmann was named to the board in December 1989 to fill the unexpired term of Karen Trear.
A retired teacher, Herrmann told board members that a strong education and strong education "go hand-in-hand."
"I feel we need to find ways to educate students for the new jobs and the new technologies that the 21st century will demand," she said.
Herrmann, whose 40-minute session with board members was the longest of the three candidates, also defended the board's recent search for a new school superintendent, and the value of computers as an educational tool.
"I think it has been shown that students who have computers in their homes have a big jump over students who do not," Herrmann said, in response to a question from Supervisor Henry Jablonski. Jablonski had asked if new "user friendly" computers made it less necessary to stress computer training in the classroom.
On its recent search for a superintendent - in which the School Board seemed to reject two of three candidates before interviewing the third - Herrmann said neither of the first two candidates had the majority of the board's approval.
Herrmann also said there should be better communication between the two boards, after Moore asked why communication had "gone down the hopper."
"Why shouldn't two chairmen be able to talk?" Herrmann asked.
The boards have been at odds lately over consolidation of the school system's and county's financial departments. Herrmann was not asked directly about the dispute.
McMillan, who has done volunteer work at Prices Fork Elementary School, holds a master's degree in mathematics and computer science. She told board members she was concerned about unemployment and illiteracy in the county. She said layoffs have put the county in a "crisis."
"I think our scope and our focus need to be re-evaluated," McMillan said. "We have the resources, we have the manpower to do wonderful things."
McMillan also said she favors the electing of school boards.
The board will hold a public hearing on the School Board seat Monday night, and make a final decision May 24.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***