Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 18, 1993 TAG: 9311180034
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The supervisors' action - which would begin to bring county School Board members' terms in line with those of the Board of Supervisors - could also produce a totally inexperienced board for 1996 and lead to "the ruination and the downfall of the school system in Roanoke County," School Board Chairman Frank Thomas said.
Because School Board members have publicly expressed reluctance to run under the new system, a fresh slate could take office Jan. 1, 1996 - just four months before they have to decide on a roughly $60 million budget.
"There's just no way a person could have that kind of a cram course and still be able to do a good job," Thomas said.
What's more, he thinks the supervisors know that - and that they've designed a scenario which would give them the upper hand in any battles over the school budget for 1996.
"I would hope that it wouldn't be, but it certainly sounds to me like it would be intentional," he said. Thomas - who has said he would not run for a seat - prefers a system that gradually mixes elected and appointed members to keep experienced people on the board during the transition.
Supervisors Chairman Fuzzy Minnix said there was nothing manipulative about the board's vote, which was taken in the woods near the Dixie Caverns Landfill during a tour of county construction sites. The board agreed to hold a public hearing Dec. 14 and to direct County Attorney Paul Mahoney to begin the legal process for making the change.
"I think what the board was trying to do was to honor the wishes of the people for an elected School Board," said Minnix. "On the other side of the coin, it could be four or five years down the road and still waiting to get elected people on there."
The issue arose because state law requires school board members to be elected at the same time as their counterparts on boards of supervisors. But in Roanoke County, none of their terms match.
Some School Board members would end their terms months - or even years - before the supervisors in their districts came up for re-election. Others would end their terms months or years later.
Mahoney addressed both boards recently to explain the options. To make any changes in School Board members' terms, he said, would require legal clearance from the state and a change in the county's charter. That would require action from the General Assembly.
At the direction of both boards, Mahoney will seek a legal opinion from Attorney General Stephen Rosenthal on whether he can cut short the term of someone already appointed to the board - an action which would be necessary under the supervisors' plan.
He does not, however, expect an opinion before the Dec. 14 hearing, which has been tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. at the County Administration Building on Brambleton Avenue.
Other options - all of which would require a legal opinion - include:
Appointing someone to serve on an interim basis for those terms that end before elected board members would take office. That could prove problematic, because state law requires the county to abolish its school board selection committee once the switch to an elected school board is made.
Asking the General Assembly to amend the county's charter to allow for lengthening and shortening some terms in order to bring them in line with those for the Board of Supervisors.
There is precedent for the last option and for the one chosen by the supervisors, Mahoney said. The General Assembly granted charter amendments this year to Virginia Beach and Rockbridge County, settling similar questions.
Legislators passed a law enabling Rockbridge County to elect its entire board during its first election and then move to staggered terms, Mahoney said. He is patterning the Roanoke County charter amendment on the Rockbridge plan.
Under the supervisors' plan, two seats - Catawba and Cave Spring - would be filled in 1995 for four years, along with the supervisors' seats in those districts. The remaining three - Windsor Hills, Vinton and Hollins - would be filled for two years each to line up with the supervisors' elections in 1997.
Virginia Beach laid out explicit plans in its charter for the length of each district's School Board term, lengthening some and shortening others to make them match up with City Council terms, Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Fox said.
It also spelled out a plan for returning to four-year terms once the transitional period ended, she said.
Mahoney said he wants a legal opinion despite what's been done already in other localities.
"I just want to make sure that whatever we do, we do it right," he said.
by CNB