ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 3, 1996 TAG: 9610030072
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Shortly after several angry voices protested how few blacks were hired by Montgomery County Schools, the School Board set a meeting date to discuss that issue.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday night to set aside an hour at its Oct. 15 meeting to talk with leaders of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The Rev. John Price, president of the local chapter, requested a meeting after the board agreed to move a black vice principal from a school to a position in the central office. The move of Lenny Sessions from Blacksburg Middle School to an office overseeing drop-out prevention removes the only black principal in the county.
Several of Sessions' supporters spoke to the board Tuesday during the public address portion of the meeting, harshly criticizing the administration and comparing this situation to segregation more than three decades ago.
"This administration would like to see our children put at the back of the bus again," said Marie Morgan, Sessions' mother-in-law.
In a Roanoke Times story published Tuesday, Director of Personnel Russell Holladay said he tries to recruit blacks at colleges in Virginia and surrounding states, including predominantly black colleges.
The Rev. Lee Suggs told the board that statement implied black teachers and administrators weren't qualified.
Wednesday, Holladay said the number of blacks certified in education is increasing, but the numbers are still small. Those who are certified will naturally be attracted to higher salaries that Montgomery County can't offer, he said.
"It's strictly a matter of high demand, low supply," he said. "If someone gets a job in the Roanoke area and gets better pay, they'll go there."
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