PHYLLIS ALBRITTON Montgomery County School Board District A incumbent

LEONARD SESSION Montgomery County School Board District D candidate (Incumbent Jamie Bond was not in attendance.)

GEORGE STILL Montgomery County School Board District A candidate

Editor's note: David Dunkenberger, the District C representative on the Montgomery County School Board, is not running for re-election because of other time and family commitments. This was incorrect in print and has been updated in this online version.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Candidates for the Montgomery County School Board at a forum Thursday night addressed questions about going to school year round, changing attendance zones and studying employee pay.

The forum, held at the Montgomery County Government Center and sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, lasted about an hour and a half. It is the first of several forums planned this month in advance of the November election.

Phyllis Albritton, the District A incumbent, George Still, who is running against her, and Lenny Session, who is running against incumbent Jamie Bond for the District D seat, took part in the forum. Bond and Drema Foster, a write-in candidate for District C, were absent.

The incumbent in District C, David Dunkenberger, opted not to seek re-election because of other time and family commitments

For most of the forum, the candidates addressed questions submitted by attendees. One addressed the issue of overcrowding at some schools while others have relatively low enrollment.

All the candidates said they would support changing attendance zones if necessary.

Session noted that structures rarely change but that population density does and is sometimes unpredictable. Specifically, he said, the attendance lines in Christiansburg may have to be studied.

Still said he would want to make sure lines weren't drawn in the middle of neighborhoods so that children could remain in the same schools as their friends.

None of the candidates readily said they would support year-round schools.

Albritton and Still said the idea would have to be studied to determine whether it would work for the community.

Still and Session noted that one of the highest costs associated with year-round schools would be trying to cool the schools in the summer.

Asked what priority they would place on employee compensation, all the candidates said it's at the top of their lists.

Still said there are many teachers who are being paid to travel across the county for one class, something he said he doesn't think is the most effective use of resources.

Asked what the school system can do to lower its dropout rate, Still said it should make sure students are vocational-ready when they graduate high school. The primary objective now, he said, is college preparation, but there should be more options for students who don't plan to go to college.

Session said the school system needs to work with families rather than only with students and should continue to support alternative education programs.

Albritton said she thinks the primary reason students drop out is that they can't do their work because they aren't reading on grade level. Her goal, she said, is to make sure all children are reading on third-grade level by the end of the third grade.

About 20 people attended the forum, which will be broadcast on WTOB and on the league's Web site at www.lwvmcva.org.