THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508130226
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
How we elect a School Board will dramatically affect the operation - and success - of the public schools in the future.
The argument of neighborhood interest and control that many give in favor of district seats voted on only by people in the district is the very reason that method makes me uneasy.
A person accountable only to the residents of a district would be committed only to the desires of that small constituency. That's the way politics works.
For instance, as Councilman Johnny Clemons pointed out at a public hearing Tuesday night, the schools have $100,000 a year or less to spend on all the buildings until 2002 or whenever the new high school is paid for. Almost every school in town could make a case for needing that $100,000.
What happens if we elect a School Board, each accountable to a small group of people and pushing for a different school to get the money? Can the School Board really function at its best?
Suppose some of the people who still want to reopen Cradock High were elected by their neighbors? Or what if several members were elected by a constituency that wanted a fancy, new 5,000-seat stadium at Wilson High, whether or not we need it or can afford it?
Then there's the proposed I.C. Norcom building. School Board members accountable to fragments of the electorate could heavily influence the direction of a school that now may cost almost $40 million. Comments from some Norcom supporters leave the impression that a group of people in the city envisions the new school with an all-black student body. That would defeat entirely any rational reason for building this new school that we really don't need and can't afford.
Constructed to function as a high-tech, science-oriented school, the new building could be an asset to the city. As a newer version of an old, out-dated, segregated system, it would be an expensive liability - for both blacks and whites.
These are just some of the things that make me dubious of an elected board that is not accountable to the entire population.
In some of my lives outside Portsmouth, I have covered and observed a variety of governing boards elected by district vote rather than by the total constituency of a city or county. If you can believe it, they were bigger circuses than anything I've seen around here.
The back-scratching is unbelievable. You-give-me-this-and-I'll-give-you-that is perfected to the worst degree. Many things are done without question under the unwritten code of behavior for board members who have to please only a small segment of the electorate. It's frightening to think our schools could be run on this system.
Some argue that district votes would make the schools better. Translate that into the schools that my kids attend would get better - not the entire school system.
Creating some district seats but having each of them subject to voting by the entire city may be the best compromise for City Council, which obviously is getting some pressure to have voting by districts.
A board member holding a district seat would become more familiar with certain schools and possibly could enlighten the entire board about certain conditions. But because the board member would have to stand scrutiny on a citywide level at re-election, demands would be more in line with the needs of the entire school system.
This method of electing the School Board could accede to some citizens' demand to have more personal representation. Still a member would have to be accountable citywide at election time and would be forced to look at a broader picture.
It seems to me the only way to avoid total chaos in an already maimed school system. by CNB