THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 30, 1996 TAG: 9604300001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SERIES: DECISION 96
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Nine people are competing for four seats on the Chesapeake School Board. Because all the races are at-large, voters are free to pick the four best candidates.
The ones we favor have applicable credentials, knowledge of the school system, and a commitment to improving it.
The system isn't broken; in fact many people have moved to Chesapeake in order to have their children attend its public schools. Still, all is not well. In a city with above-average income, students score just below the state average on tests. Too many students are in portable classrooms, as a result of rapid city growth.
Barring another burst of growth, however, schools should catch up. Four schools are under construction and nearly half of existing schools are being renovated or expanded.
Our picks for the board are Allen H. Goode Jr., Harry A. Murphy, James J. Wheaton, and Patricia P. Willis. The only incumbent is Wheaton, though Goode served on the board earlier. These are people who will ask school administrators the pointed questions that Virginia Beach residents wish their board members had asked in recent years.
At candidate forums, Wheaton's answers to questions revealed an impressive knowledge of School Board activities, needs and accomplishments. He speaks in whole paragraphs; in fact, as a Great Bridge High School senior in 1978, he was a member of the state debate champions. He has a bachelor's degree in mathematical economics from Wake Forest University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. In other words, Wheaton, 35, knows numbers and laws. He is seeking to integrate technology into schools and to raise standardized test scores. He is a valuable and impressive member of the school board.
Harry A. Murphy, 38, is another good man to keep an eye on how tax dollars are spent. A Naval Academy graduate, he served 12 years of active duty, part of that time as operations officer of a squadron of ships. He was personally responsible for schedules, fuel and shipyard overhauls costing more than $25 million each. He owns and runs A. Murphy Fence Co. and is a commander in the Naval Reserve. He has a master's degree in educational administration from Old Dominion University. He seeks more cooperation between schools and businesses to involve vocational tech students in apprenticeship programs.
Patricia P. Willis, 38, says she can think like a teacher, a mother and a lawyer, since she has been a teacher and is a mother of three and a lawyer. She has degrees in education and law. Now a full-time homemaker, she said she favors getting back to the ABCs: Adequate facilities, Bus and school safety and Curriculum excellence. With children ages 5, 6 and 10, she has a parent's awareness of what's right and wrong with the schools. Her experience as a teacher would prove useful on the board.
Allen H. Goode Jr., 67, is a retired Army colonel who served on the School Board from 1992-94. His booming baritone voice would quiet a busload of teenagers, and he seeks to emphasize discipline in the schools. His wife is a former Chesapeake teacher, and he has been actively involved with the school system for many years, earlier as a parent and currently as a volunteer in numerous roles, including tutoring three days a week. He strongly urges parental involvement. ``If your children knew you were involved,'' he said, ``you would be surprised how well they would do.''
These four candidates have the ability and the will to improve Chesapeake schools. We urge voters to vote for Goode, Murphy, Wheaton and Willis on May 7.
KEYWORDS: ENDORSEMENT CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD RACE by CNB