THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602100087
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: COMPILED BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 186 lines
Five of the School Board's nine seats will be up for grabs May 7 in the city's first School Board election.
Most of the details of the election have been worked out. But what's at stake? What does the School Board actually do? How can a resident become a candidate?
Following are the answers to these and other commonly asked questions:
Why are voters now electing School Board members?
In a 1994 referendum, city voters approved the switch from an appointed to an elected School Board by a nearly 4-1 margin. In the past, City Council members appointed residents to the board.
Residents in every South Hampton Roads city except Norfolk have switched from appointed to elected boards.
What does the board do?
Generally speaking, the board:
Develops policies that guide the school district.
Evaluates trends and needs of the district.
Approves curricula - which are blueprints of what will be taught.
Helps develop a school budget.
Employs, directs and evaluates the superintendent of schools.
Why should residents care about the School Board election?
What the board does affects parts of daily life, impacting everything from learning conditions to the city's ability to attract new families and businesses to Portsmouth.
Tax dollars also are involved: The city's 1995-96 contribution to local schools accounts for 28 percent of the $85.2 million operating budget for the schools.
Whose seats will be up for grabs?
The following board members must run for office if they want to keep their seats: Board Chairman J. Thomas Benn III, Vice Chairman James E. Bridgeford, Lawrence W. I'Anson Jr., Leah Stith and Louise G. ``Sis'' Walden.
How long will the five elected board members serve?
Four years. The first group's terms start July 1.
The other four seats will be up for election in 1998. Three board members' terms expire that year: the Rev. Charles H. Bowens II, Mary L. Curran and Byron P. Kloeppel.
Ray A. Smith Sr. is scheduled to step down in 1997. At that time, the City Council will opt to reappoint Smith, or someone else, to serve a one-year term - bringing the total number of seats up for election to four in 1998.
How will board members be elected?
At-large. That means voters can vote for candidates from any part of the city. Some residents unsuccessfully lobbied the City Council and the U.S. Justice Department, which must approve local electoral plans, to create voting ``wards'' or ``districts'' in Portsmouth.
Generally speaking, ward or district voting allows voters in a certain area to vote only for candidates who also live in that area.
Will board members have the power to tax?
No.
Who can run for the School Board?
To run, you must meet these criteria:
Be at least 18 by the May election.
Be a registered voter. (Felons or persons ever deemed mentally incompetent by a court are forbidden to run.)
Be a U.S. citizen.
Be at least a one-year resident of Virginia by Election Day.
Be a Portsmouth resident.
What's going on in the school district these days? What's at stake?
The most recent ``report card'' from the state Education Department showed that city schools were doing a better job of preparing students for college.
More city students have been earning advanced diplomas, scoring well on college-credit exams and taking algebra and foreign language classes. At the same time, fourth-graders' achievement on standardized tests has improved. The district's drop-out rate is among the region's lowest.
But the report card, which covered the 1990-91 through 1993-94 school years, highlighted several problems:
Forty percent of all students - and 46 percent of high school students - had been absent from school for more than two weeks in 1993-94.
The percentage of students completing vocational programs had dropped sharply.
Low standardized test scores had barely budged among most middle and high school students.
Moreover, the district is struggling financially. School leaders say the needs are great while resources are thin.
The operating budget for 1995-96 is $85.2 million. When the council approved a 4 percent cut in local funding for schools for the 1995-96 year, district administrators - with School Board approval - reshuffled this year's budget, slashing accounts for staff development, travel, maintenance and instructional supplies, among other areas.
Portsmouth also is known for its low salaries.
Few of Portsmouth's 2,564 part-time and full-time workers get ``fat-cat'' salaries, a Virginian-Pilot analysis of the district's October payroll showed:
Seventy percent of the district's employees are paid less than $30,000. Teachers' salaries average about $31,356; but about one in four is paid less than $28,000, before taxes, the analysis showed.
Only 18 district workers - including the superintendent - are paid more than $60,000 a year.
``Our inability to offer the higher salaries makes it extremely difficult to attract talented people'' to the nearly 18,000-student district, Superintendent Richard D. Trumble said last fall.
Where can I get more information if I choose to run for a board seat?
The state Board of Elections has a how-to guide. Call 1-800-552-9745 to request one. The state board also provides the forms candidates are required to complete and file.
When is the filing deadline?
7 p.m. March 5; local voter registrar's office, 801 Crawford St.
Must I file petitions supporting my candidacy?
Yes. And the petitions must have at least 125 signatures from qualified city voters. The voter registrar's office will match the signatures against the city's list of registered voters.
Who may circulate a candidate's petitions?
A candidate may circulate his or her own petitions. A Portsmouth registered voter also may circulate a candidate's petitions.
Can a political party endorse a board candidate?
Yes.
Are city voters stuck with an elected board?
No. Voters can hold a referendum to switch from an elected board to an appointed board in four years. MEMO: Five seats will be up for grabs in the city's first School Board
election in May.
The terms of the following board members expire this year: Vice
Chairman James E. Bridgeford, Lawrence W. I'Anson Jr. and Louise G.
``Sis'' Walden.
Because state law requires a majority of the board to be elected,
board Chairman J. Thomas Benn III and Leah Stith also must run for
office if they want to keep their seats. Their names were chosen in a
recent drawing overseen by the voter registrar's office.
Here's a brief look at who they are:
J. Thomas Benn III
Current chairman
Age: 56
Time on board: Served since 1990
James E. Bridgeford
Current vice chairman
Age: 52
Time on board: Served since 1990
Lawrence W. I'Anson Jr.
Age: 59
Time on board: served since 1993
Leah Stith
Age: 46
Time on board: Served since 1991
Louise G. ``Sis'' Walden
Age: 53
Time on board: Served since 1993
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color illustration]
KEN WRIGHT
WHAT'S AT STAKE
J. Thomas Benn III
James E. Bridgeford
Lawrence W. I'Anson
Leah Stith
Louise G. ``Sis'' Walden
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION CANDIDATES by CNB