Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 1, 1995 TAG: 9509010027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
She's stood on both sides of a school desk. As a child growing up in Christiansburg, she learned the three R's from behind a desk, even struggling over mathematical word problems.
As a teacher at Auburn High School in Riner, Trear has stood in front of middle and high school classes, guiding them through the maze of geometric formulas and algebra charts.
She's a parent who spoke out when the county School Board considered closing Prices Fork Elementary School. And, she listened to parents during her five years as a member of that School Board.
Now, she's seeing education issues from a new perspective: as president of the Montgomery County Education Association.
About 600 teachers and other school employees make up the MCEA. That's about 80 percent of one of the largest work forces in Montgomery County. Members who join the MCEA must also join the Virginia Education Association and the National Education Association, two other teacher-advocate organizations.
Trear takes over for B.J. Mullins, a kindergarten teacher at Kipps Elementary School in Blacksburg. Mullins locked horns with the School Board often during her two years as president, particularly when it came to teacher pay raises and employee morale.
"She just flows," Trear said of Mullins. "She knows absolutely the right thing to say. It's going to be tough to fill her shoes."
But even though her experience with the MCEA is limited ("I'm just a card-carrying member," she confessed), Trear knows what she's getting herself into.
From 1984 to 1989, during the time she took a break from teaching to raise her three children, Trear represented District E on the School Board. It was tough - struggling over budget negotiations was unbelievable, she said - but valuable.
"It taught me to listen, and compromise. It's just like parenting - you have to pick your battles," she said.
Last week, Trear was already gearing up for her No. 1 priority: fall elections.
Remember, she told her colleagues when they gathered for opening ceremonies at Christiansburg High School on Aug. 22, politicians are inevitably responsible for every aspect of education.
"Until politicians stay out of education," she told them, "we cannot afford to stay out of politics."
In the next few months, Trear wants to encourage MCEA members to become involved in the elections, and to inform them on pro-education candidates.
The New River Valley Education Association recently endorsed Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, and Del. Jim Shuler, D-Blacksburg, citing their records of fighting cuts in education funding.
In July, the MCEA's political action committee announced its endorsements for the School Board: Virginia Tech pathologist Bernard Jortner; Michael Smith, president of the union at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant; Virginia Tech philosophy professor Jim Klagge; and Tech communications professor Wat Hopkins.
Like her predecessor, Trear also plans to address teacher salaries and morale this year.
Morale is very low in schools, she said, particularly after the School Board passed a budget with only a 1.2 percent raise for teachers last spring. Trear hopes the entire pay scale can be altered so that teachers receive a balanced increase in salary each year they teach.
With any issue, Trear said, she hopes to maintain the positive, open mind she's developed during past duties.
In the end, she said, only one issue truly matters: "I just have to keep reminding people that we're after the same thing - quality education for our children."
by CNB