ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 4, 1997 TAG: 9702040121
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Like students, the Roanoke School Board soon will have to worry about report cards.
City Council has asked for a report on the performance of board members who seek reappointment to see how they're doing in addressing school problems.
If they seek new terms, Chairwoman Marsha Ellison and Vice Chairman John Saunders would be the first two board members to be affected.
Councilman Carroll Swain has asked for the report on the board's record in raising student test scores, improving attendance and reducing drugs in schools.
Swain said he also wants to know what board members have done to improve discipline and lower the dropout rate.
"Being an old military man, I want to see what they have done so I can evaluate them," said Swain, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was elected to council last year.
"If they're not up to par, we might want to look for someone else," he said. "I hope it's a good report card, but I think we need to know how they're doing."
Swain, a former director of physical plants for city schools, said he doesn't have anyone in mind for appointment to the board. "I'm not asking for this information to use it against anyone."
The terms of Ellison and Saunders, who are finishing their first three-year terms, expire June 30.
Ellison said she probably will seek a new term, but Saunders said he hadn't decided.
A Parent-Teacher Association leader for more than a decade before being appointed to the board, Ellison has been chairwoman since last July.
She has said she likes to work quietly and avoid confrontation. She coordinated the negotiations with Superintendent Wayne Harris for a new four-year contract.
Saunders, a businessman with a master's degree from Harvard University, has taken a high profile on some issues and occasionally disagreed with school administrators. He has pushed for higher salaries for teachers and other changes.
Saunders' wife recently had another child, and he said there might be factors unrelated to his service on the board that could determine whether he seeks a new term.
Marilyn Curtis' term also ends June 30, but she is ineligible for reappointment because she is finishing her third term.
Under council's policy on term limits, the members of city boards and commissions are barred from serving more than three terms.
School Board members' attendance at meetings also could become an issue.
Mayor David Bowers and several council members complained recently that no School Board members attended a legislative committee meeting to comment on the board's request for the 1997 General Assembly. They also complained that the board had to delay the start of its November meeting because a majority of its members were absent when it was supposed to begin.
Ellison has defended the members' attendance record, saying the criticism was unfair.
Records show that Ellison had perfect attendance at meetings in the past 18 months and Saunders missed three meetings.
Under the selection procedure for the School Board, council announces pending vacancies, invites applications and then publicly interviews up to three applicants for each seat.
Application forms may be obtained in the City Clerk's office in Room 456 in the Municipal Building.
The deadline for applications for the three pending vacancies is March 10. Council will interview the applicants in April after it screens the applications.
Roanoke has a seven-member board with staggered terms. The members are paid $2,400 a year.
Most counties and cities in Western Virginia now elect school board members, but Roanoke and Salem have kept the appointment method.
The Roanoke Education Association said recently that it might begin a campaign to get an elected board in the city. Some teachers are upset with the board's decision to overturn a grievance panel's finding in favor of a teacher and with its perceived lack of support for a 6 percent pay raise for teachers for next year.
Voter approval would be needed for the city to switch to an elected board. A petition with the signatures of 10 percent of the registered voters in the city would be required for a referendum on the issue.
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