THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 1, 1995 TAG: 9507010459
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Gov. George F. Allen on Friday appointed two politically conservative educators to the state Board of Education, for the first time giving the governor a majority of appointees on the board that sets education policy for public schools.
Named to the nine-member panel were R. Lee Ware, a history and government teacher at Powhatan High School in Powhatan County, and Cheri P. Yecke, a former teacher of the year in Stafford County and now a graduate assistant in educational psychology at the University of Virginia.
Allen appointees now form a 5-4 majority, taking control from a board that had been dominated by appointees of former Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.
Ware, 42, and Yecke, 40, have been heavily involved in Allen's back-to-basics movement, serving since last year on his Champion Schools Commission.
Ware had a hand in shaping draft academic standards for social studies released in January that came under criticism for promoting rote memorization over critical thinking and presenting an ideologically slanted view of history. The board Thursday adopted a substantially revised version of the standards.
The state's education community had waited anxiously for Allen's appointments. Many worry that a conservative board will move to undermine school programs such as sex education and guidance counseling and also promote financial incentives for parents who want to send their children to private schools.
But on Friday educators withheld judgment.
``I think we just want to see how things work out,'' said David C. Blount of the Virginia School Boards Association.
Robley Jones, president of the Virginia Education Association, said he has worked with Yecke and found her to be ``open to input.''
``I think she's very bright,'' Jones said. ``I don't see her as a close-minded ideologue.''
Board President James P. Jones, a Wilder appointee, said Allen ``has a good track record so far'' of making board appointments.
``I think they're people who have a serious interest in the state's public schools,'' Jones said. ``It's true they may differ in point of view with other members, but I think we've done a pretty good job of keeping on track.''
Ware and Yecke join three other Allen appointees, all Champion School members: Lil Tuttle, a parent education activist from Chesterfield County; Michelle Easton, a former education official in the Reagan and Bush administrations; and Rayford L. Harris, a professor emeritus of technology education at Virginia State University.
Ken Stroupe, Allen's spokesman, said Ware and Yecke, both Republicans, were selected because of their experience as teachers. ``There hasn't been any kind of litmus test,'' Stroupe said.
Ware, a GOP county supervisor in Powhatan County, and Yecke said their primary concern is student achievement and ensuring that Virginia's schools have high academic standards.
Besides teaching in the public schools, both said they have sent all their children to public schools. Ware said he supports ``as wide a parental choice as possible'' in public education and favors greater local control over education issues.
They replace Lewis M. Nelson Jr. and Malcolm S. McDonald, whose terms expired Friday. by CNB