Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 30, 1994 TAG: 9412300120
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Charlsie Pafford says it's time for her to leave, now that Roanoke County has a new school superintendent.
She stayed on the School Board longer than she expected because she wanted to help choose a successor to Bayes Wilson, who retired in June.
``When I agreed to accept a new term four years ago, I knew then that [Wilson] would be retiring and we would have to select a new superintendent,'' Pafford said. ``I wanted to be a part of it.''
She says Deanna Gordon was a superb choice. ``We made a nationwide search, and she was the unanimous choice. She has the vision and the strong curriculum background that we need.''
After 12 years on the board, Pafford said, changes in her life caused her not to seek another term.
Even if the county had not switched to an elected board, she said, she probably would not have applied to keep the Windsor Hills seat.
Pafford is the board's senior member, having been appointed in July 1982, two months before Barbara ``Bootie'' Chewning joined the board. Chewning also is leaving the board this week.
Pafford, 51, had two reasons to give up her seat: Her three children now are grown; and she has a full-time job as human resources manager for the RPS Teleservice Center.
Pafford, a former teacher in Wyoming, became interested in Roanoke County schools when she moved to the Roanoke Valley with her husband and children. Her husband works at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem.
She got involved in the schools through the parent-teacher association. She became a PTA leader and went on to become president of the County PTA Council before she was appointed to the board.
Frank Thomas, School Board chairman, said Pafford has worked to improve the county's programs for gifted and special-education students.
Like Chewning, Pafford has worked quietly to upgrade county schools without seeking publicity, Thomas said.
``We really hate to see them both go at the same time,'' Thomas said. ``That is not to say we can't develop the same feeling with the new board, but it will take time.''
Pafford said the School Board and Board of Supervisors may have to come up with more than $25million - presumably by a bond issue that would be put to county voters for approval - for a new Cave Spring High School and other building needs in the southwest area of the county.
Pafford said the board should not reduce the size of the new school or eliminate a football stadium to cut costs. ``Let's don't cut out the stadium or build a school so small that it will be filled on opening day,'' she said.
Pafford said she believed a bond issue for a new school and several projects in other areas of the county would have passed this year.
But the supervisors approved a smaller $10million bond issue that included funds for several smaller building projects and $1.5million for the design and planning of a new Cave Spring High School.
No referendum was needed because the supervisors sold the bonds through the Virginia Public School Authority, a school-financing agency.
Cave Spring Supervisor Fuzzy Minnix doubted that a referendum would have been approved this year and said a one-year delay would provide county and school administrators time to convince voters a new high school is needed.
Pafford said Roanoke Mayor David Bowers' proposal for a joint city-county high school is unrealistic. Such a school would require a joint city-county school board and would be difficult to administer, she said.
However, she does favor city-county cooperation on special education and other specialized services.
Pafford believes the School Board will become more politicized as more members are elected. Three members were elected this year, and the other two seats will be up for election next November.
During the referendum, she opposed the change because she feared it would bring politics into the schools. Despite the likelihood of political jockeying, she said, the board members will need to work together to get the needed funds for schools.
Amid the campaigning, she said, it's easy for everyone to forget that the children should be at the center of the debate. ``It's all for the children and what is best for them,'' she said.
The most rewarding part of being a School Board member, she said, is watching students achieve their goals. ``To see them graduate, go to college or get a job, that gives the most pleasure,'' she said.
The toughest part is trying to remain objective on emotional issues, she said, particularly on financial matters.
Recent years have been tough for county schools because funds have been short, Pafford said. ``Despite the lack of enough funds, we have kept the educational level high. We used to get a bigger piece of the pie.''
Pafford said public schools face threats on several fronts, including reform proposals such as vouchers.
Vouchers are grants or funds provided by the state to pay part of the tuition for a child to attend a private school. Under a voucher system, tax credits also can be given to cover part of the tuition costs.
``I oppose vouchers, because they will take money away from public schools,'' she said.
Pafford, who graduated from the University of Colorado with a major in math, said funding will be the toughest issue facing county schools in the next few years. Computers and other instructional technology will be expensive, she said.
To help address the money crunch, she said, county schools should forge more partnerships with businesses.
by CNB