Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 2, 1993 TAG: 9312020212
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As president of the Parent-Teacher Association's Central Council, Ellison said she feels a responsibility to bring more parental representation to the board. Currently, only one School Board member has children in the city school system and that person - Jay Turner - will leave the board in June.
Other School Board members have children who are either too young or too old for the public school system; one member, Marilyn Curtis, has grandchildren in the city schools. Another, Finn Pincus, has no children at all.
"It just floors me that there are not 20 parents who want to run," Ellison said Wednesday, after announcing her candidacy to the council's executive committee. "I almost feel obligated to run."
Ellison's point - that the board needs more parental input - has been made before. Last spring, Pat Witten, former central council president, lost a bid for a School Board seat after running hard on that issue.
City Council, instead, reappointed incumbent members Charles Day, who is now chairman, and Pincus.
Curtis, who will apply for a third term next year, said she agrees with Ellison about the need for parental involvement on the board, as long as it is not too narrowly focused.
Ellison, 41, has one daughter at Patrick Henry High School and another at Raleigh Court Elementary. As president of the central council, however, she is familiar with all the city schools, she said.
And, she added, she has more than just parenting in her favor.
A graduate of Hollins College, Ellison has experience working in merchandising and as an executive secretary at a large contracting company in New Jersey. She has lived in Roanoke since 1978, and has been active in the PTA for 10 years.
She said she stresses the philosophy that "if you help one child, you can help all the children. . . . We are part of a total school system."
Two of the three incumbent board members will apply to keep their positions next year. Vice Chairman Wendy O'Neil, who finishes her first term June 30, said Wednesday she will ask to be reappointed to another three-year term. So will Curtis, who completes her second term in June.
Turner completes his third term in June and will therefore be ineligible to reapply under a local ordinance.
by CNB