Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510270002
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"I think I can fill a void on the board. There are no moms on it," White said. "When you have children in school, I think you are more familiar with the schools."
There are no women on the five-member board. Some men on the board have children in schools, but they don't have the same insight as mothers, she said.
White is the mother of Anna, a third-grader at Penn Forest Elementary School, and Sarah, a second-grader there.
White said she is running for the Cave Spring District seat because of her interest in the education of her daughters and other children in the county.
She says the county has a good school system, but many schools in Southwest County are old and overcrowded, especially Cave Spring Junior High School and Cave Spring High School.
"I think parents in this end of the county are a little irritated about the condition of some schools, particularly since this is the only area that is projected to grow," White said.
She said that southwest county deserves a "state-of-the-art" high school with modern athletic facilities.
White favors the construction of one large new high school to replace Cave Spring High because she believes it would be cheaper to operate than two schools and it could offer a broader curriculum.
"If money was not an issue, I would favor two high schools, but money is always an issue," she said.
White, 48, also says the county should install air conditioning and make other improvements at Cave Spring Junior High regardless of whether the school is renovated.
"The school will have to be used for five to seven more years even if the decision is made to close it after a new high school is built," she said.
The Board of Supervisors has refused to provide $2.5 million for air conditioning at Cave Spring Junior pending the completion of a consultants' study of school building needs in southwest county.
Cave Spring High and Junior High are not the only schools in southwest county that are operating near capacity and need improvements. At Penn Forest Elementary, one of the county's newer schools, there are five first-grade classes, but the school was designed for four.
The debate over a new high school and other school building needs are the hottest topics in the school board campaign, she said.
If there was one thing that White could change about county schools, it would be to have smaller classes in elementary schools.
Some classes have 24 pupils, which puts more stress on teachers and makes it more difficult for them to give individual attention to the children, she said.
White, who does volunteer work several hours a week at Penn Forest Elementary, is in a three-way contest for the board. Her opponents are William Irvin and Vern Jordahl.
Even if she wins, she said she will continue as a volunteer because she enjoys being in the schools and working with children.
White is seeking the seat being vacated by Maurice "Buck" Mitchell, a board member for six years.
She said she has no private or hidden agenda in running for the board.
"I am interested because I have two daughters in elementary school and nothing is more important to me than their education," she said. "I want what is best for all of the children in the county."
A medical technologist whose career is on hold while she raises her children, White doesn't see herself as a politician. But she's willing to get into the political process to get on the School Board.
While the county has a good school system, she said, there is room for improvement in test scores, noting that the county's average Scholastic Assessment Test score this year was below the national and state average.
"I think parents want some accountability," she said. "Something is wrong when you spend more and more, and test scores drop."
White believes that parents must take more responsibility for disciplining their children and teaching them values.
"We expect a lot out of schools, and I think parents have to take some responsibility," she said. "If the teachers just had to teach reading, writing and arithmetic, they could do it better."
But she doesn't support the new state law that would permit parents to be fined for refusing to work with schools to discipline their children.
"Some people resented having to sign the form. I don't know that you can force people to do things by threatening them with a fine," she said.
Because the legality of the law is in question, state Attorney General Jim Gilmore has advised school systems that they shouldn't seek fines for parents.
White would support lengthening the school year from 180 to 200 days. She says elementary children become bored and irritated with a long summer vacation. A longer school year would make better use of school buildings, too, she said.
White said she has found that many parents are aware of the school board election, but some Cave Spring voters without children in school are unaware that they will select a board member this year.
It is the first board election in the Cave Spring District. Voters are also choosing board members in the Catawba District. They elected board members last year in Hollins, Vinton and Windsor Hills.
Keywords:
PROFILE POLITICS
by CNB