Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504030090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Western Virginia will have school board elections this fall, but you would hardly know it. Candidates for the board seats have been slow to get into the contests.
Candidates for the state Senate, House of Delegates and boards of supervisors already are making their announcements and trying to get a jump on their potential opponents in the November election.
Not so school board candidates.
Fewer than a half-dozen candidates have filed for 41 school board seats that will be up for election in eight counties in the region this fall.
``I have not heard any rumblings or speculation about how many candidates there will be,'' said Marie Batten, Bedford County registrar.
In Pulaski County, registrar Phyllis Hanks said she, too, doesn't have a reading on how many candidates will get into the race for five board seats.
No candidates have filed in either county.
School board elections will be held for the first time in November in Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski counties.
Roanoke County will have its second board election in November after having elected three members last November.
The filing deadline is June 13, still three months away, but election officials said there appears to be less activity by potential candidates for school boards than other offices.
The newness of school board elections is cited as one reason for the scarcity of candidates. In several counties, voters approved elected school boards several years ago, but the first election won't be held until this November.
Some incumbents have not decided whether to run, having been accustomed to the appointed method.
Election officials said the fact that political parties are not involved in the nomination process for school boards apparently is one reason for the lack of early candidates.
State law requires all school board candidates to run as independents. Political leaders can endorse the candidates after they have qualified as independents by filing the signatures of 125 registered voters, but political parties are barred from nominating candidates.
State legislators said they mandated the independent status for school board candidates because they wanted to keep politics out of schools and wanted to encourage nonpoliticians to become candidates.
Potential candidates who are looking for advice on how to run a campaign and what to expect could ask Evelyn Ball, a loser, and Thomas Leggette, a winner, in last fall's Roanoke County election.
Ball said many voters were not aware of the School Board election and that candidates must be prepared to compete for voters' attention.
``You need as much visibility as possible. You've got to go to places, talk to people and get your name well-known,'' said Ball, who ran second in a three-way contest for the Vinton District seat.
Ball, who had been active in the Parent-Teacher Association and other school activities, said candidates should try to broaden their base to include more than school activists.
``It would have done me more good to campaign before other civic groups than just schools,'' she said.
Candidates need the support of their families to help with the nitty-gritty details of the campaign, said Ball, a contract specialist with Shenandoah Life Insurance Co.
Leggette, who won the Windsor Hills seat in Roanoke County last fall, said he, too, would advise potential candidates to campaign among diverse community and civic organizations, not just school-oriented groups.
``I counted on large crowds at school meetings, and there weren't as many people as I expected,'' Leggette said. ``I should have gotten around to more groups.''
School board candidates need a good political adviser who can teach them the basics of running a campaign, including the logistics and time commitment required, he said.
Leggette, a lawyer, also believes candidates should take the time to decide their position on the issues. They should be prepared for questions from the press, he said.
Candidates should be prepared for lots of questions about issues that are not under the board's jurisdiction, he said.
Leggette said he would run again if he had it to do over, but he hasn't decided whether to seek a second term.
The procedure for becoming a school board candidate is relatively simple. People interested in running should contact the state Board of Elections - (800) 552-9745 - to get copies of petitions and other forms needed to become a candidate.
If candidates need more copies of the petitions, they can get them copied at their municipality's registrar's office.
Candidates will need the signatures of 125 registered voters, but Roanoke County registrar Elizabeth Leah urges them to get 150 to 200. Sometimes, people who are not registered voters will sign petitions. To be sure of getting 125 registered voters, Leah said, it is best to get additional signatures.
Candidates must file their petition with the registrar's office. Once the registrar has certified that 125 registered voters have signed the petition, the candidate's name will be placed on the ballot.
by CNB