Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Forest Park Elementary School PTA President LeVita Washington decried the Roanoke School Board's decision to close the school and said that the community would do its best to keep it open.

The Roanoke City Council voted Monday to appoint David Carson and Lori Vaught to three-year terms on the Roanoke School Board, even as Carson came under fire from opponents of a plan to close a city elementary school.

Advocates for Forest Park Elementary School criticized Carson and the Roanoke School Board's 4-3 decision May 1 to close the Northwest Roanoke school, saying they've complained to the U.S. Department of Education that the move violates federal civil rights law. Officials at the department's Office of Civil Rights did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Carson, the incumbent school board chairman, received votes from six of the seven council members, while Vaught was narrowly selected over Dolores Johns in a run-off vote.

"I'm flattered and honored and will continue to do my best to be worthy of that confidence," Carson said.

The school board under Carson's leadership has made decisions that will have a lasting impact on the city's schools, such as negotiating the departure last year of former Superintendent Marvin Thompson, who was unpopular with school staff, and hiring his replacement, Superintendent Rita Bishop. Most recently the board approved a school budget that included a 5 percent pay raise for employees.

Vaught will replace Mignon Chubb-Hale, who served a year on the school board before deciding not to reapply for a full three-year term.

Each city council member was given the option to vote for two of the three school board candidates. Every council member except Brian Wishneff voted for Carson, while Johns and Vaught each received four votes. A second vote was taken to decide between the two. Wishneff, Bev Fitzpatrick, Gwen Mason and David Trinkle voted for Vaught, while Mayor Nelson Harris, Sherman Lea and Alvin Nash voted for Johns.

A half-hour before the council meeting, six people stood on the municipal building's steps and assailed the school board's decision to close Forest Park next month and to reopen it in the fall as a school for overage middle and high school students. School officials have said the alternative program will help boost the city's graduation rate, which last year stood at 57 percent, one of the lowest in the state.

The board also voted to close Oakland Intermediate School, send its students to Preston Park Primary School and use the Oakland building to house the Noel C. Taylor Learning Academy.

LeVita Washington, president of Forest Park's PTA and a staunch opponent of closure, said Carson and the school board failed in their responsibility to offer the necessary resources to help students at the school succeed.

"The community is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep Forest Park open," said Washington, who was joined by community activist Martin Jeffrey.

The school's students have struggled on state tests -- the school has failed to win accreditation through Standards of Learning test results for four consecutive school years -- although they have made progress on the tests in recent years.

"Closing the school will be closing a vital part of our community," she added, charging that Forest Park was targeted for closure because most of its students are black.

Under the school board's plan, Forest Park students will be divided among Highland Park Elementary, Hurt Park Elementary and Roanoke Academy for Mathematics and Science Elementary. Bishop has said the three receiving schools would receive extra attention to help students succeed.

"I appreciate parental passion and involvement in education," Carson said.

"Our graduation rate is at a crisis point," he added, noting that the board's decision was intended "to save kids of all races and socioeconomic conditions who are at risk for not receiving a basic education in the form of a meaningful diploma."