Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410100015
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ELIZABETH OBENSHAIN
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Tuesday night, in front of God and a public meeting of the School Board, PTA representatives from all seven schools in Blacksburg joined forces to try to shoot School Board Chairman Roy Vickers out of the saddle - or rather to ask him to dismount himself.
Vickers represents the town of Blacksburg - but not well, according to these parents.
Specifically, they asked Vickers to resign because he ignored their requests:
nTo act promptly on last spring's morale survey, which found widespread unhappiness with new Superintendent Herman Bartlett and the School Board. (Teachers and administrators gave Bartlett a D-minus and the School Board itself a D.)
nNot to extend Bartlett's contract or give him a raise this year.
Instead, Vickers voted to give Bartlett a raise and was the deciding vote last month to give him an early extension of his contract.
Enough, said the parents. They felt ill-served by a School Board member who repeatedly voted against their wishes and what they considered their children's best interests.
Vickers, however, who also has children in the local schools, has said he's voting his conscience and acting in what he sees as the schools' best interest.
A difference of opinion might have been tolerated if there had been a higher degree of trust and communication between Vickers and the parents. But what seemed to anger the parents most was Vickers' failure to respond to what one PTA member described as hundreds of letters, as well as numerous e-mail messages, faxes and even a face-to-face meeting with PTA representatives this past summer.
Blacksburg parents have always been fussy about their schools - reflecting a college-town determination to provide an excellent education for their children.
Vickers seemed out of step with his district almost from the first - perhaps deliberately so as he reflected more the rural, conservative outlook of the Board of Supervisors that appointed him than the Blacksburg district he represented.
But the Blacksburg parents believe they are not alone in their frustrations with Vickers and the School Board, although PTAs from Christiansburg and other areas of the county have not been as public with their concerns.
The School Board's actions - and inaction - this year had earlier raised public complaints from parents.
The roar of dissatisfaction expressed in last spring's climate survey did not receive the School Board's full attention for months until its September retreat.
This School Board also seems to have trouble making decisions, and when it does make decisions, it sometimes seems confused about who is in charge.
It's hard to imagine any management group in private industry rewarding an executive with a D-minus rating from his troops with an early contract renewal before having seen strong, measurable improvement in the manager's performance and his relationship with employees.
So perhaps it is not surprising that at least one group of PTAs finally reached the boiling point with their representative on the board. They want Vickers to step down, and they want the School Board to reverse itself and rescind its extension of Bartlett's contract.
Whatever official actions come from this parent revolt, the most positive result could be stirring up a healthy interest and even a little excitement among parents and the voting public as Montgomery County looks ahead to its first School Board election next year.
I've never been much of a fan of elected schools boards - having covered one in North Carolina where one senile member dozed fitfully through each meeting and the others might as well have been asleep.
But this activity and outrage might motivate candidates to step forward not only for the elections but also to be considered next summer when Vicker's seat will be up for a final three-year appointment by the Board of Supervisors
The more candidates, the more robust debate about the direction of the local schools and the more support shown for education could have only a positive effect on Montgomery County.
Elizabeth Obenshain is the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River editor.
by CNB