THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090377
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Residents voted nearly 3-to-1 Tuesday to allow voters, not City Council members, to decide who sits on the School Board.
The first School Board election here will be scheduled simultaneously with the 1996 City Council election.
The measure attracted broad support - from those who advocated the switch with the hope of getting more working-class blacks on the board to others who said they wanted board members who would speak for ``the people'' and not rubber stamp plans of Superintendent Richard D. Trumble.
Some had argued that the change 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.
Others questioned whether the switch would improve the quality of education or significantly change things because the current state law says the board must still rely on the council for money.
Nonetheless, most residents said they favored the idea of giving citizens the power to choose who governs schools, and thus allow parents to play a bigger leadership role.
``With the appointed process, I don't feel they're directly responsible to the public they serve,'' Waterview resident Lori Aluna said of the board, shortly after voting in favor of the switch.
But will an elected board improve things in city classrooms?
``Yes, I think so,'' said Brian ``Keith'' Nance Sr., a civic league leader who helped to organize the petition drive last year and has strongly opposed the superintendent and some district policies in the past. ``Maybe voters will become more involved in the educational process,'' he said.
The first School Board elections in Virginia - including those in Suffolk and Virginia Beach - were held in May. Only 37 of the state's 136 cities and counties have not considered the issue.
Portsmouth was one of 18 localities across the state that took up the issue on Tuesday.
In some cities, critics urged voters to reject elected boards for fear that elections would lead to a takeover by conservatives. By most accounts, those predictions did not hold true in May's election.
Under federal law, the U.S. Justice Department must approve the city's plan for electing board members because of Virginia's history of voting-rights abuses.
The department will determine whether the method of electing city board members is fair to everyone, especially racial minorities. Ultimately, the department could overturn the way all public officials are elected in Portsmouth, which now has an at-large system.
School Board member Louise G. Walden questioned whether switching to an elected system would make any difference because the board still won't have power of the purse.
Even so, ``I think it's got to be,'' she said. ``I think it's the wave of where things are going.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
PORTSMOUTH
Election of school board
YES 20,883
NO 8,632
Water and sewer bonds totalling $22.9 million
YES 17,227
NO 5,707
KEYWORDS: ELECTION PORTSMOUTH RESULTS by CNB