THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 2, 1995 TAG: 9509020449
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Safety in schools, portable classrooms and technical training for students are emerging as paramount concerns among School Board members and politicians as the city looks toward its first School Board election.
Though some board members remained undecided about whether to run for office to keep their seats, many weighed in on issues they said will become pivotal once the campaigns kick off.
``I would want to make sure that the schools are safe for all constituents - students and employees alike,'' said James M. Reeves, who has served on the board for two years.
Reeves said the dangers of life in the classroom are rising as more children carry weapons and as a culture of peer pressure and disrespect dares students to break more boundaries.
``I'm talking about students being safe emotionally and safe physically from harassment from other students, and from teachers,'' Reeves said.
Safety also ranked among the highest priorities for School Board member Lynn K. Pierce, who would not say whether he'll defend his seat in a campaign.
But just as important was the need to teach skills that will prepare high school students to do more than enter college with a liberal education.
``We need to enhance our technology - that's what I would really stress now,'' Pierce said.
He said he would recommend a technology diploma as an alternative to a general high school diploma. Earning that diploma could involve training programs with area hospitals, shipyards, community colleges and the chamber of commerce.
``What it boils down to is, `What are you going to do when you get out of high school?' If you learn a trade, then you have some marketable skills that will supplement any apprentice program and give you a head start.''
School Board members, City Council members and teachers said any candidate hoping to gain legitimacy in a campaign will have to address one of the most visible problems in Chesapeake's school system: portable classrooms.
The city uses more than 300 ``portables,'' as they are commonly called, at schools where the student population outgrew the main buildings.
``I'd like to see discussion of a plan to eradicate portable classrooms by a certain date, say, 1998,'' said Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance. ``It should be important to find out how much that would cost and be able to set a goal.''
At a time when the city is financially strapped with a $102 million school bond and other costs of rapid growth, voters will undoubtedly scrutinize how potential School Board members would finance the school system and how the board would avoid wasteful spending.
Tensions about how school money is being spent surfaced earlier this year when council member Alan P. Krasnoff called for a study on how the city and the school system could consolidate services to eliminate duplication.
In a heated debate this year over whether to allow the city's auditor to oversee an internal audit of the school system, Krasnoff and other council members also raised doubts about the school administration's fiscal responsibility.
Randall Trivett, a teacher at Western Branch High School and president of the Chesapeake Education Association, said he hoped the campaign would draw candidates prepared to tackle a spectrum of challenges that require different kinds of expertise.
``I would hope that the issues will be broadly about quality education and that we will not have just one-issue candidates, where they've only been interested in one particular little thing for years.''
Mayor William E. Ward said he expects candidates to discuss school curriculum. ``You know, some people want certain courses included and others want them excluded.'' MEMO: Staff Writer Tony Wharton contributed to this story.
Related story about school board election is on page B1.
KEYWORDS: SPECIAL ELECTION ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL
BOARD by CNB