|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Republican party has issued endorsements backing three candidates for the Albemarle County School Board, Cyndra Van Clief, Bill Jones and Pamela Moynihan. The party has previously backed present board members Ken Boyd and Gary Grant. No other party has issued endorsements in these campaigns, and candidates don't carry a party affiliation in the election.
Motivations for Running A questionnaire from the Coalition for a Responsible School Board asks, among many other things, 'Why do you want to be a member of the Albemarle County School Board?' Van Clief says, simply, "I am a concerned citizen and realize that a strong public school system is essential to our Republic and vital to the well being of our community." McKeel, presently on the board, writes, "I [have been] especially interested in supporting a strong academic focus, the fine arts and career and technical education. ...The learning curve [for board members] is great and consistency is positive for the school system." Moynihan's says, "I am a parent .... I feel that there are already a large number of professional educators and administrators helping to make policy, but few parents ...." While Terrell, with nearly thirty years of teaching and administrative experience, says that he "would like to continue [his] work in public education by helping to set policy and provide assistance to the parents and students of Albemarle County." Jones sees service on the board as "an investment in our children and this country's future." Walker wishes to serve in order "to hold the state accountable for funding public education." He says, "The state is paying a smaller ... share [of expenses] while imposing new ... mandates." Walker also wants to "use [his] 20 years of experience as a coalition builder, public educator and advocate" to encourage community participation in the schools. Vouchers: The survey explains that public money cannot be used to provide school vouchers for tuition to private schools, and the candidates were asked to comment. Van Clief's says vouchers are simply "not under the jurisdiction of local school boards." McKeel states that she is "against any type of voucher program that takes public funds away from the public schools." Moynihan is "a proponent of neighborhood schools" but also supports "programs within the public schools that allow some ... latitude outside the regular educational programs." Terrell states firmly, "I do not support the use of public funds for vouchers. Public money should be ... for public education." Jones did not answer this question. Walker asserts that "Albemarle county students do not need vouchers. The Albemarle schools ... are doing a great job." Budgeting: A major issue on the board and in the elections is the approach to be taken by the board in setting its budget. The school board is responsible for developing a budget based on the needs of the educational system and the resources available from government sources: federal, state and local. The Board of Supervisors determines the local share. Budgeting begins with a preliminary estimate of local funds, and the phrase 'balanced budgeting' has been used to refer to the preparation of a school's budget based on this preliminary figure. Currently, budgets are prepared on a 'projected needs' basis and are (by law) adjusted to be in balance with available funds at the time they are approved. "I favor a needs-based budget approach," says Van Clief in her answers to the Coalition questionnaire, and "the highest priority must be to ensure that monies are spent primarily in the classrooms." In other venues, Van Clief has suggested that the school board's budget is unbalanced because they sometimes report to the Board of Supervisors needs that preliminary funding information in November and December indicate they do not have the money to implement. According to board member McKeel, the budget reported in November and December is a funding request. The Board of Supervisors may or may not choose to give the school board the allocation that they request. But they are representing the needs of the school division. If the money is not available by April, then the school board has to decide which needs have a higher priority. Van Clief wants the needs established in November and December with the preliminary budget information so that if the money is not in hand at that time no request is made or advocated for additional needs or funds. McKeel calls the criticism of the school budgetary process regarding a so-called "unbalanced budget" a red herring, advocated by a conservative group to diminish the school system's budget as part of a larger agenda of lowering taxes. The revenue basis in November and December will always be lower than what is eventually available, says McKeel, and therefore many programs will be severely impacted through this method. Moynihan writes that "The most important part of the budget process is determining what needs are most important and critical for ... success .... [But] we should strive to achieve balanced budgets. "The job," writes Gerald Terrell in his response to the questionnaire, "is to submit a budget that accurately defines the needs of our School Division. Often [needs] will exceed projected local funds. We need to fund our budget through more state funding and grants." Bill Jones feels that "the [present] process is OK. However, the school board proposed budget should not exceed expected revenue." In a recent interview, Gordon Walker said that he supports needs-based budgeting, and asserts that it's the obligation of the School Board to project what the needs are and to advocate for funding. Curriculum: When asked for comments on curriculum and recommendations for changes, Van Clief wrote, "the primary curriculum focus should be on the classrooms and preparing students for the SOLs. I strongly support foreign language programs and ... fine arts ... especially in the lower grades." McKeel said that "school professional and administrative staff should be choosing curriculum and materials that match the ...requirements from the state." Pamela Moynihan was "generally happy with our school curriculums, they support ... SOLs. [She] would ... like to see more emphasis on ... foreign language skills at earlier ages ... also more emphasis on the arts and music at all levels." Gerald Terrell provided nearly 3 pages of detailed responses, addressing issues by subject area and educational level. He emphasized eliminating inequities among schools' computer resources and advocated providing fine arts in classes K-5. He insisted that "language classes should not be an option, they should be required" and he recommended an increased focus on American History in middle and upper grades. Bill Jones said that "additional reading and language training for any child below grade level" should be a major concern. Gordon Walker said that, "with the exception of policy, ... I would entrust curriculum matters to trained professionals" and that in addition to skills, "the goal of curriculum should also be [the] mastery of learning [itself]." Compensation: Not surprisingly, all the candidates are on the record favoring improving teacher pay. However, the standard for deciding on compensation levels is in dispute. Presently, teacher pay is based on years of experience, earned degrees, and school responsibilities. Walker and Moynihan endorse the present system, while Terrell, with a background in teaching and administration, emphasizes the importance of judging individual teacher's performance. Van Clief also believes in the evaluation of individual teachers, and McKeel has said that the school principals should have more authority to weed out ineffective teachers. Creationism: The only candidates to express a positive view of the addition of Creationism to the science curriculum are Cyndra Van Clief and William Jones. Walker, Terrell and McKeel have specifically opposed it. Private School Attendance: A more personal issue in the election is that Van Clief's three school-age children attend St. Anne's-Belfield, a private school in the county. School-age children of other board members and candidates attend public schools in the county, although McKeel's son attended St. Anne's-Belfield in the 6th and 7th grades and her daughter attended St. Anne's-Belfield in preschool. Otherwise, McKeel's children are solely the products of Albemarle County Schools. Campaign Finance In filings received October 15th, candidates reported income and expenditures for the month of September, supplementing previous reports. In the September 15 statement, covering the month of August, Diantha McKeel received active support from local Democrats among others, with a total of $1,335 in itemized ($100 or more) contributions. Gordon Walker added a total of just over $2,000 to his available funds, with over half coming from larger contributors, including $300 from George Loper, host of this website. Cyndra Van Clief gave herself a loan of $1,000, and Bill Jones received a $300 in-kind donation from his realty company and $525 in a loan to himself. Gerald Terrell got a $158 in-kind donation from his wife's firm, Dee's Designs, and Pamela Moynihan received $50 from her husband, Sean. In filings received October 15th, for the September reporting period, only Van Clief and Walker received support in amounts of $100 or more - in Van Clief's case, from a lone supporter, and for Walker, from four supporters. Jones loaned himself another $525, and Moynihan received an additional $300 loan from her husband.
Note: Contributions shown for September include both un-itemized contributions (less than $100) and itemized contributions, except in the case of Moynihan, who has received $300 in loans. (Dave Sagarin, from accounts in The Daily Progress, December 2, 19, 2000, June 8, August 4, 8, 15, September 18, 27, October 3, 8, 9, 2001, The Observer August 8, 2001, candidate filings and responses, and answers to questionaire from the Coalition for a Responsible School Board, 2001) Editor's Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, readers should
know that George Loper, host of this website, endorses McKeel, Terrell and
Walker in the upcoming Albemarle School Board elections.
|
