Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410240043
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Retired Superintendent Walter Hunt and about a dozen other prominent city residents have mounted a campaign to persuade voters to keep the current system in which City Council appoints the School Board.
Hunt said that an elected board could be more expensive, more political and more confrontational with City Council.
An elected board also would decrease the chances for black members to serve because the black population is small, he said. With an appointed board, he said, City Council can ensure that the board has black members.
With an elected board, he said, there would be no assurance that the school system and city would continue cooperative services such as finances, legal, maintenance, transportation and others.
Superintendent Wayne Tripp will release a report next week on the possible cost of an elected board.
Because of Salem's traditionally conservative voters and the lack of a campaign by advocates of an elected School Board, some observers say the proposal is likely to fail.
Until now, there has been little public debate about or discussion of the issue in Salem. It was placed on the ballot because the Virginia Referendum Advocates, a Salem-based group, collected the signatures of more than 10 percent of the registered voters.
The referendum group is not taking a position on the issues, but some people who helped collect signatures favor a change.
Gail Bushnell, who gathered hundreds of signatures, said she believes that Salem is a well-run city and she has no complaints about the school system.
Still, she believes that voters ought to have a more direct voice in the choice of School Board members.
"I am not criticizing anyone, but I think the people ought to have little more voice in how things are run," Bushnell said.
Referendums have been held in 81 localities since the General Assembly authorized local option on elected school boards. Voters have opted for elected boards in 80 cases.
Danville is the only locality in the state where voters have decided to keep an appointed School Board.
In the Roanoke Valley and surrounding counties, all localities except Roanoke either have approved elected school boards or will have referendums Nov. 8.
Besides Salem, Franklin County and Radford will vote on whether to make the change. There has been no controversy on the issue in Franklin County or Radford.
Statewide, there will be referendums in 18 localities this year.
All other counties in the Roanoke region already have approved elected boards and most begin electing the members in November 1995.
Roanoke County will get a jump on the other counties, however, and will elect three members this year. The county's other two members will be elected in November 1995.
In Roanoke, a citizens' group failed in a campaign to collect the signatures of 10 percent of the city's registered voters.
In Salem, Hunt said, that the committee for an appointed board will send a brochure on the referendum to every household in the city. The group will spend about $2,000 to its campaign, all of it private money.
Aaron Smith, president of Virginia Referendum Associates, said that it would be improper for Hunt's group to use public funds on a campaign to oppose a change in the method of selecting School Board members.
He said he hopes city officials don't spend public money on the school referendum as they did on the referendum for a new baseball stadium this summer.
Hunt said the committee for an appointed board will not ask for any public funds to finance its campaign.
Neither Salem City Council nor the School Board has taken a position on the board-election issue, but one board member said that he is concerned that an elected board could be more expensive.
Walter Franke said Salem voters need to have financial information on the possible impact of an elected board. Tripp said he would provide it before Election Day.
Because of the close cooperation by the School Board and City Council, Franke said, the school system saves a substantial amount of money.
Still, Bushnell said she feels that voters ought to have an opportunity to select the School Board members, and she hopes an elected board won't be as expensive as some fear.
by CNB