THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604210060
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
School Board candidates Karen Jordan and Keith Nance are no strangers to controversy.
Soon after the school district applied for a federal magnet-school grant, they organized a trip to Washington to point out what they considered flaws in Portsmouth's plan.
They were among the most vocal critics of the board's previous ``race-and-space'' policy, which took students' race into account when deciding whether they could cross from one attendance zone into another.
And when the administration or the board has proposed other ideas they didn't favor, they've spoken out - often. In fact, they spearheaded the campaign to have School Board elections in the city.
Now, they want your vote.
Jordan, a 41-year-old homemaker, and Nance, a 36-year-old insurance agent, are among 16 contenders for five available board seats in the city's first School Board election on May 7.
(North E. West, a Cradock candidate, has flip-flopped when asked whether he would stay in the race.)
The field is diverse, including such candidates as David I. Joyner, an education professor at Old Dominion University; and Carol Young, a hospital medical clerk, mother of five and supporter of political maverick Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr.
But few have been in - or near - the center of school district storms asO often as Jordan and Nance in recent years.
What are they up to now? What's their ``real'' agenda?
They both said they were not aiming to send Superintendent Richard Trumble packing, although that impression persists in some quarters.
Instead, they said they want to bring more of an ``average Joe'' flavor to the nine-member governing body.
``It's time that the school system listened to the parents,'' said Jordan, whose son, Adam, attends Woodrow Wilson High.
``I know who John Q. Public is. Those are the kinds of people I deal with.''
Nance, who has a kindergartner at Olive Branch Elementary, also likes to position himself as a populist.
``We saw a lack of what we thought was basic accountability from the School Board in several instances,'' he said, explaining the impetus for the elected-board petition drive almost four years ago.
``They just weren't listening to the public, the parents.''
Others privately say Jordan's and Nance's campaigns are more a matter of sour grapes. They had sought City Council appointments to the board; they were never successful.
Nance responds with one of his favorite gibes:
``Let's just say it was the best board money could buy,'' he said, referring to financial backers who helped to elect council members who, in turn, made the appointments.
Neither Nance nor Jordan was endorsed by the Portsmouth Education Association's political action committee. The votes weren't there, the PAC's chairman said.
They're not running as a team. Still, Nance - a towering, Mack truck of a man - and Jordan - petite and serious-looking - have much in common.
Both wear their civic activities like a badge of honor. Both have strong ties to neighborhoods: Jordan is president of the Simonsdale Civic Club; Nance, the Park Manor Civic Club.
Both talk up their Portsmouth connections. Nance is a 1978 graduate of I.C. Norcom High. Jordan grew up in Chesapeake, but she's lived in Portsmouth for about 23 years, having served as a PTA president and worked as a district bus driver.
Their political platforms sound like several others that also emphasize a desire to beef up vocational programs and address low morale among employees.
But what distinguishes them from the pack is their willingness to beat the bushes, they said.
That very trait cuts both ways, however.
For many school officials and others, Jordan and Nance are known only as ``part of that group'' that went to Washington to lobby against a $6 million magnet-school grant.
Administrators had pinned much of their hope for the future on the money.
Winning a grant was a long shot from the start, with 155 cities nationwide competing for 55 awards. The district's application was passed over in late 1993.
Jordan said she and other residents asked policymakers only to scrutinize Portsmouth's plan, which they found unacceptable because they said it would benefit too few children.
The district ultimately created the programs on its own, although on shoestring budgets.
To those who hold a grudge, Jordan has a ready response:
``There wasn't a group of parents that went up to say they wanted it. . . . So where were they?''
Gail Cunningham, the PEA's executive director, gives both Nance and Jordan credit for at least staying involved over the years.
``While we may not agree on particular issues, I've always believed their hearts were in the right place,'' said Cunningham, a city resident.
``They were doing what they were doing for reasons they thought were important. The more people who are involved in the schools, the better.''
After years of being outsiders, Jordan and Nance are now pushing hard for a seat on the dais.
Even so, they say there's no chance of selling out.
``I'm close to the grass roots; always will be,'' Nance said. ILLUSTRATION: Karen Jordan
Keith Nance
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATES PORTSMOUTH SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION by CNB