Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 22, 1993 TAG: 9307220313
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BY RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
"I got out from under the boulder," the 62-year-old Saltz said Wednesday. "There are things going on that are contrary to what I believe in."
Saltz, who replaced the late Tommy Thompson on the board three years ago, had another year left on his term. He turned his letter of resignation into County Administrator Joe Morgan's office last Thursday and did not attend a board meeting that evening.
Superintendent William Asbury expressed surprise at the resignation and said he didn't really know why Saltz quit.
"He didn't discuss it with any of us," he said. Asbury called Saltz "probably our most controversial board member," but said he'd made a contribution.
"We'll miss him," Asbury said.
Saltz, a former Chesterfield County school teacher and administrator, said he actually wrote his resignation letter a year ago following "a conflict between the superintendent and I." He declined to elaborate on the incident, but said others talked him into staying.
Things came to a head for Saltz at a recent board meeting when he claimed Asbury told members their $900 annual stipend would be doubled.
"I don't think we have a single teacher in the county who got a $900 raise," he said. Saltz's wife, Chime, is a teacher, but he said his wife's employment had nothing to do with his decision to step down.
"She can fight her own battles," he said.
At her request, Chime Saltz will be transferred from Pulaski County High School to an elementary school art-resource teaching position this fall.
Saltz said that when he joined the board, he didn't realize members were paid. "I don't know of anybody on the board who needs the money, except me," he said.
Saltz, who's now in the antique furniture business, also said he was unhappy with high school Principal Tom DeBolt's recent dismissal of track and field coach David Wright.
No reasons were give for Wright's dismissal, but Saltz said that if the school administration was not happy with his coaching performance, "somebody should have told him sometime during the season."
Saltz said his refusal to shy away from controversy might be his legacy as a board member. "I did ask questions," he said.
But, he said he also felt like an outsider. "I really don't know how I got on the board in the first place," he said. "I don't fit in."
He said he believes some board members and administrators were glad to see him go.
There's been discussion about eliminating the at-large School Board position, so it's not clear whether the Board of Supervisors will replace Saltz on the six-member panel. The county will move to an elected School Board in 1995.
"The election is going to be interesting," Saltz predicted.
by CNB