THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512020161
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: WHO WILL LEAD OUR SCHOOLS?
SOURCE: PROFILES BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Jeff Rowland has had an application filed in city hall for six or seven years to get appointed to the School Board. He never lobbied City Council to consider his application, because he didn't want to get political.
But now he's taking the political plunge, running in the city's first School Board elections.
``We have a very good system, but I don't think we need to sit on our laurels,'' he said. ``We need to keep improving.''
The political scene is a bit of a change for a guy who describes himself as a homebody, whose favorite activities are those that involve his family.
He grew up in South Norfolk - the Portlock section, he loyally insists. He turned down offers from big schools like North Carolina State to attend Old Dominion. He married his high school sweetheart, and now he and his wife live in the house where she grew up.
``I think Chesapeake is a great place to live and to raise a family,'' he said. ``I just think we need to get a handle on what's going on. I don't think we need to stop growth, we just need to manage it a little better.''
Particularly in the school system, he said.
``In some cases, we've got as many kids outside the building in portables as we do inside,'' he said. ``That's got to stop.''
Rowland does not believe city schools will ever be totally rid of portables. But the numbers at least could be reduced.
He also believes that all Chesapeake students, no matter where in the city they live, should have the same educational opportunities. That view comes from personal experience.
He graduated second in his class from Oscar Smith High School in 1979. But when he got to college, he found he was less prepared than other kids.
He met students from other parts of the city who had educational opportunities in high school that he was never offered, such as exposure to computers.
``Right then, I realized that something didn't feel right,'' he said.
If elected, he said, he would work to ensure that all kids get the same programs.
Jeffrey A. ``Jeff'' Rowland
Age: 34
Occupation: Sales representative, Jacobson Metal Company, Chesapeake
Born: Norfolk
Years in Chesapeake: 34
Residence: South Norfolk (Portlock)
Family: Wife, Susan; daughters Bethany, 10, Holly, 7
Education: Bachelor's degree in civil engineering, Old Dominion University, 1983
Community Service: Former vice chairman, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board; coach, youth soccer, softball and basketball; PTA member, Portlock Primary, G.W. Carver Intermediate, Oscar Smith Middle School; executive board member and coordinator of Partners in Education, G.W. Carver Intermediate PTA; Sunday school teacher, former Sunday school director, finance committee member, Raleigh Heights Baptist Church; treasurer, South Norfolk Civic League
Official endorsements: Chesapeake Education Association
How to reach: home, 545-3064; work, 543-2066
Major campaign issues: Academic equality for all children in the city; in-depth and independent audit of the school system; school safety; better planning to reduce crowding in schools ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
He believes that growth needs to be managed better.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION CANDIDATES CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS
PROFILE by CNB