
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 4, 1994                   TAG: 9401040215
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SCHOOL BOARD PETITION CIRCULATES

A Roanoke woman is starting a petition drive that could lead to an elected School Board in the city.

Now, City Council appoints the School Board. But on Monday, Gloria Litchford Stinnett filed court papers to start a petition drive. If the drive gets 4,500 signatures, city residents would vote on the question in November.

Stinnett is a member of the city Democratic Committee and has worked on election campaigns for Mayor David Bowers and Congressional candidate John Fishwick. She said, however, that she is acting as a private citizen in the petition drive and represents no organized group.

"I don't know what really provoked me into doing this. It's been on my mind for a while," Stinnett said. "I just feel like people should get more involved in what's going on in their community. People feel like: `Why should I vote? What good does it do me?' And that's wrong."

She added that "this is not an indictment of the current School Board. They finally seem to be on track with the new superintendent." E. Wayne Harris was appointed superintendent last year.

However, if the School Board is not elected, Stinnett said, there's no guarantee that it will be accountable to citizens. "Having an elected School Board is just giving the power back to the people."

Stinnett is the mother of four grown children. Several grandchildren, nieces and nephews are attending Roanoke schools at all levels.

If the experiences of other places is an indication, an elected School Board would be easily approved by Roanoke's voters. Citizens in every one of the localities across the state that have had referendums have approved elected school boards. In November, Roanoke County voters approved an elected School Board by a 2-to-1 margin.

Stinnett said she has several friends she can depend on to help her circulate petitions, but she hopes to get more volunteers. They will start by going door to door and probably will have petitions at the polls during the City Council elections this spring. Stinnett said anyone who wants to help with the petition drive can call her at 344-4116.

by CNB