THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510130208
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Conflicting beliefs that shape the way many residents view next year's School Board election emerged in an exchange Monday between Councilman Bernard Griffin Sr. and Louise G. ``Sis'' Walden, a board member.
On Oct. 24, the council will vote on a board election plan. Next month, the city will submit the plan to the U.S. Justice Department for approval.
Walden was the last to speak at a public hearing concerning the way board members should be elected in May. She said she favored an at-large board election. Splitting the city into wards or districts would be divisive and lead residents to pit schools and neighborhoods against one another, she said.
Portsmouth, she added, needs to focus on building bridges among all its citizens.
Griffin, a former board chairman, said communities are more likely to come together and work toward common goals when they all have seats at the table; when decision-makers reflect a diversity of races, backgrounds, neighborhoods, opinions.
Wards can help make that happen, he said.
At-large elections, he added, historically have put political power beyond the reach of minorities, especially when voting has been polarized along racial lines. Walden's reply was impassioned: ``. . . We have to have some faith, at some point, that we're going to turn this around,'' she said.
Last fall, Portsmouth voters overwhelmingly approved the switch from an appointed to an elected board. There's been less agreement on how board members should be elected.
The decision is crucial because it may affect how all city leaders are elected. If the Justice Department rejects the local preference for electing board members, it could call for the overhaul of the system. The council is now elected at-large.
At Monday's public hearing, three residents said they favored a ward or district system of some sort. One of them, activist Shirley Hines, said she had circulated petitions among other residents who favor wards or districts.
Walden was one of two residents calling for at-large board seats. At a public hearing in August, eight of nine residents called for anything but an at-large system.
Board members had been appointed at-large, but the council doesn't have to stick with that method. Last month, the council announced its support of an at-large plan. Griffin didn't embrace that idea.
Five of nine board seats will be up for election May 7.
Because Virginia has a history of voting-rights abuses, the department must approve city election plans. It has up to 60 days to respond to Portsmouth's submission.
Portsmouth's voting-age population is about 55 percent white and 44 percent black, 1990 Census records show. The current board has five white members and four black members.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL BOARD ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD WARD SYSTEM by CNB