THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411050126
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
FRED AND YEVONDA Ferguson both grew up in the city, attended public schools here and are now rearing their three children in the Ida Barbour public housing complex.
They're concerned about reports of school violence and what they perceive as too little computer technology in classrooms. But at Westhaven Elementary, they say, their daughters, Chante, 6, and Shaniqua, 4, are getting a solid academic foundation.
The Fergusons are not disgruntled parents, although the School Board's decision to create ``community schools'' and end elementary school busing for desegregation purposes next fall is still a very sore spot.
They aren't sure whether they will vote to switch from an appointed to an elected School Board on Tuesday. But if doing so would bring more diversity to the board - such as a member from a public housing project, or some whose decisions are made through the lenses of low-income parents - that would be a plus, they said.
``It's like hardly anybody is really concerned about the low-income kids,'' said Fred Ferguson, who works at a High Street sport shop and coaches a neighborhood baseball and football squad.
Portsmouth and 17 other localities across the state will decide on Tuesday whether to switch to an elected school board.
Interviews with a cross-section of city residents revealed a nagging concern about the issue: Will switching from an appointed board to an elected board improve things in the classroom?
Many residents said they favored the idea of giving citizens, not City Council members, the power to choose who governs schools, and thus allow parents to play a bigger role in the process.
Brian ``Keith'' Nance Sr. is a leader of Portsmouth Citizens for Better Education Inc., which spearheaded the petition drive last year and has strongly opposed Superintendent Richard Trumble and some school district policies in the past.
The bottom line, Nance said, is: ``Do you want to give someone else power over your vote? Do you want someone else to make decisions for you or do you want to make them yourself?''
But some said the switch would lead to a system in which board members would be more concerned about their particular interests than what was best for the city and all students.
``I'm voting against it,'' said Rose Council, a former PTA leader. ``We have some very talented people who would make good board members but they would not want to deal with running a campaign. I'm afraid it might be too political and the children's welfare would get lost in the shuffle.''
Others questioned whether the switch would really improve the quality of education or significantly change the way the district is run because the board would still rely on the council for money.
The first board elections in Virginia - including those in Suffolk and Virginia Beach - were held in May. So far, 63 counties are scheduled to hold school board elections next year. Only 37 of the state's 136 cities and counties have not considered the issue.
If Portsmouth voters approve the change, the board election would be scheduled simultaneously with the 1996 City Council election. The U.S. Justice Department would have to approve the city's plan for electing board members, however, because of Virginia's history of voting-rights abuses.
State law also allows voters to change their minds: Voters could hold a future referendum to revert from an elected board to an appointed board.
In some cities, critics urged voters to reject elected boards for fear that elections would lead to a takeover by conservatives, loons or limelight seekers, or would simply make public school governance more of a political football.
By most accounts, those predictions did not hold true after last May's election.
Nonetheless, Lucy Thompson, a local parent, said disadvantages would outweigh any possible benefits.
Voters, she said, would wind up electing ``people they know nothing about.'' The current system screens School Board candidates very well, she said.
One longtime neighborhood leader disagreed.
``The people who have been handpicked aren't worth a dime for the black community. We all need a choice to get the people we want, people who will do the job,'' said Prentis Park resident William E. Copeland, who is black. ``We need folks on the board who will think for the people and not be `yes men' to the superintendent.''
Kathy Mondak, president of the James Hurst Elementary PTA, grew up in Pennsylvania, which has had elected school boards for years. ``Having an elected board allows a variety of people to contribute different opinions,'' she said.
``At this point,'' she added, ``it's hard to say what elected boards (in Virginia) will accomplish other than giving parents more of a say.'' But they are a step in the right direction, she said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI
How Fred and Yevonda Ferguson vote will affect their children's
education.
Photo
Nance
KEYWORDS: ELECTION PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB