Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504170081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
As one of the newest members of the Roanoke School Board, Saunders has taken a high-profile position on several issues during his first 10 months on the board.
He pushed for higher salaries for teachers and proposed that the school day for middle schools begin earlier. He cast the lone dissenting vote on the school budget because he wanted higher salaries for teachers.
Saunders has not been hesitant to quiz school administrators, particularly on budget issues, or to inquire about business operations.
He does his homework. He reads every report and pores over the details.
Long before he became a board member, though, Saunders had studied the city's school system carefully, knew what it offered and how the schools had performed in recent years.
Saunders and his wife, Laurie, chose to live in Roanoke because of the city's schools.
They selected Roanoke over Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; and several other cities after a rigorous comparison of school systems.
"We looked at the diversity of curriculum, test scores, percentage of students going to college, violence and discipline and other things," Saunders said. "We looked at a lot of numbers and tables. We came to the conclusion that Roanoke's schools are superior to those in many other progressive communities."
The couple wanted the best schools for their children: Ann-Henley, 12, who attends James Madison Middle School; and Martin, 10,who attends Fishburn Park Elementary School.
Saunders, 37, grew up in Roanoke, but he lived in Boston, Dallas and London for 10 years after he graduated from the University of Virginia. After getting a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University, he managed business investment portfolios for a private company.
Six years ago, Saunders decided to settle his family in Roanoke. He had close ties to Roanoke, where his father had been postmaster and his mother was a professor at Virginia Western Community College.
In Roanoke, Saunders formed his own business investment company that he later merged with Princeton Associates. The firm restructures financially troubled businesses and invests in some companies. Saunders is a principal in Princeton Associates, which has offices in Roanoke, Richmond and Baltimore.
He also is president of American Electro Brake Inc., a company with a plant in Roanoke County that manufactures truck brakes.
He spends about 60 to 70 hours a month on School Board work.
"With my job and other responsibilities, it keeps me hopping," Saunders said. He tries to read every school report and go over each item in the packets of material that School Board members receive regularly from Superintendent Wayne Harris.
Saunders attracted attention recently when he voted against the $77.6 million school budget for next year. He wanted the board to approve larger raises that would make the salaries of city teachers equal to those for teachers in Roanoke County.
"I think we have done a good job [in providing raises], but it's still possible to do better. I think we can once and for all eliminate the gap," Saunders said. "I'm going to vote against the budget, because it's in our power to do better."
Saunders said he thinks the board could have revised its budget without asking City Council for more money. "I suggested 20 areas where I think cuts could have been made," he said.
The city's salaries are not competitive with surrounding localities and other urban school systems, he said. Higher salaries are needed to attract the best and brightest teachers, he said.
But Saunders said he is not angry over the board's decision.
Board Chairman Nelson Harris said he still sees Saunders as a team player.
"He has a lot of energy and initiative. He has made a contribution with the questions and issues he has raised," Harris said. Saunders has helped add diversity to the board with his business background, Harris said.
Board Vice Chairman Marilyn Curtis said Saunders has a youthful energy and digs deeply into issues, but she thinks he is slowly beginning to see things in a broader context.
"I think the novelty is beginning to wear off and he is calming down," Curtis said. "He is beginning to see that individual items have been considered in the context of the whole school system."
Saunders is impressed with Wayne Harris and the high expectations that he sets for school administrators, teachers and students.
"One of his foremost strengths is his personal involvement in schools," Saunders said. "He does not sit in his office. He gets out there and listens to teachers, students and parents."
Seeing the school system from the inside as a board member, Saunders said he has found nothing to change his mind that it is offering a superb education for students. He believes the city should do a better job of marketing the schools, however, so more people would be aware of what they are accomplishing.
One of the school system's strong points is the magnet school program and the broad diversity in curriculum, he said.
Although Saunders is pleased overall with the school system, he said improvements and more funds are needed in three areas:
Teachers' salaries should be raised, with the national average as a goal.
The alternative education program should be continued and expanded.
Programs for gifted students need to be expanded. The schools spend less per student on gifted programs than on alternative education, he said.
Saunders believes that changes can be made in the school budget and more funds shifted to these areas without asking City Council for more money.
He likes the concept of incentive-based salaries for teachers and principals that would make them more accountable for their work.
"I strongly endorse the view that people should be held accountable for their performance," Saunders said.
Saunders has impressed Marsha Ellison, a board member who was appointed at the same time that he was.
"Sometimes, styles are different, but that can be a good thing," Ellison said. "Disagreements can provide a motivational push sometimes."
Saunders said one of the toughest duties of a board member is deciding whether to vote for the expulsion of a student who has brought a gun or drugs to school or committed another violation of the student conduct policy.
"It is an emotionally draining experience," he said. "I underestimated how tough that would be."
Keywords:
PROFILE
by CNB