Sunday, September 13, 2009
Editorial: Montgomery County School Board endorsements
One clear choice, one muddled race and a blank ballot in the third one.
From the RoundTable blog
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Voters in three Montgomery County districts will choose school board representatives in November. We recently met with candidates in two of the three races and offer our recommendations below. No candidates filed to run in the third race.
District A
The north end of the county including part of Blacksburg.
Voters in District A have the easiest choice. Incumbent Phyllis Albritton deserves their support.
Two years ago, the school board appointed Albritton to fill a board vacancy. Last year, she appeared on the ballot and voters confirmed that selection. Now she seeks a full term.
Two years is time enough to learn some of the ropes of serving in public office, and Albritton has learned one of the most important lessons: Elected officials need to listen to all sides, but ultimately they must make decisions that cannot please everyone. Too many politicians fail to lead by trying to make everyone happy.
The board made some tough decisions during Albritton's two years, especially dealing with budget shortfalls that have hit schools like other government bodies. She performed well throughout.
She also told us she favors public access to government, stating that she would support releasing the names of finalists in the ongoing superintendent search and perhaps giving citizens a chance to meet the finalists.
Meanwhile, her opponent, George Still, does not impress as a candidate. He has lived in the county only two years while he works on a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. He said he plans to stick around for a full term but conceded that the job market after he completes his degree could dictate otherwise.
District D
The southwest part of the county including Riner and part of Christiansburg.
Normally we wait until closer to Election Day to print our endorsements, but the race in District D demands early action. We provisionally endorse one-term incumbent Jamie Bond.
Bond did nothing terrible during her first term. Then again, she did nothing spectacular. She seems mostly to have coasted along with the majority. She has no specific plans for a second term aside from continuing the good work of the board. At least she agrees with Albritton that the public should know who the finalists are in the superintendent search.
Her opponent, Lenny Session, offers more. He is a career educator who rose from teacher to the principal of Auburn Middle School. He left the latter position in 2006, but retains a deeper understanding of the issues confronting the district than Bond displays. He is, for example, a passionate advocate for vocational programs that serve the many students who are not planning to attend college.
We cannot endorse him, though, because of lingering doubt about his departure from district employment. When he left the job of Auburn Middle School principal, sheriff's deputies escorted him out. Neither Session nor the school board has ever adequately explained why.
Without that crucial piece of information, it would be reckless to install Session on a board with members in place when he was fired. Then-Superintendent Tiffany Anderson fired him despite his having filed a racial-discrimination lawsuit in the past. Surely she did not risk another without good justification.
We therefore tentatively endorse Bond. Voters deserve a full explanation about why sheriff's deputies escorted a principal off public property before they vote for him. School officials refuse to talk about the incident, citing personnel confidentiality. If Session waives his rights to personnel privacy and asks the school board to reveal what happened, we will reconsider our endorsement based on what comes to light.
We run our editorial today to give him plenty of time.
District C
The eastern part of the county including Shawsville, Elliston and part of Christiansburg.
No candidate filed to run for this seat, so voters will find only a line for a write-in candidate. This is the second time District C has been without a candidate since 2004.
The person who receives the most write-in votes will win. If anyone launches a credible write-in campaign, you will read about it in the NRV Current.
