Vote No on elected school board
Regarding the upcoming November 8 voter referendum as to whether the City of Charlottesville should switch from a school board appointed by City Council to one directly elected by the voters [“Elect the elected school board,” Opinionated, October 25]: A switch to an elected school board is not necessarily in the best interest of the children served. It appears in Charlottesville’s case that School Board representatives would be elected from each of the city’s four wards plus three at-large citywide representatives. But what happens to public education if a situation developed wherein the School Board collectively remained at odds with City Council for an extended period of time (perhaps years) over one or two issues?
Look at Bedford County to the west of Lynchburg. The School Board here has remained in a state of gridlock with the County Board of Supervisors over one issue for the past two years. That issue is what to do about one of the three high schools in the county—build new according to a majority on the School Board versus renovation per the 6-1 majority on the Board of Supervisors. With the relentless community debate that has ensued, the cost of completing either option has skyrocketed by millions of dollars. Of course, the deep pocket known as taxpayers will pick up the tab.
In the meantime other issues such as teacher pay/benefits and low per-pupil spending have not drawn adequate attention. And the overall education of the children suffers due to the lack of focus on the other educational issues at hand.
Switching to an elected school board may mean that the School Board could end up as a collection of individuals focused on single issues.
As for Charlottesville, the City is in the process of switching City Council elections from May to November. This change in and of itself means that a much larger number of voters will choose the representatives on City Council. Therefore Council will be much more reflective of city residents. In turn, appointed School Board members will also be more likely to fully represent the residents of the city and not single issues.
In Virginia, local school boards do not have direct taxing authority. While real estate taxes are relatively low in Bedford County, the action/inaction of the School Board will eventually result in a major rise in local taxes. This local school board election could end up being the most financially costly local school board election
in Virginia.
Eliminate the rhetoric and truly put the education of children first. Ultimately, the decision is up to Charlottesville’s voters on November 8.
Phil Theisen
Forest
The author is a candidate for the Bedford County School Board.
Rushing to rescue TJ
In reference to your recent article, “Father figured” [Ask Ace, September 20], Peter Familias wrote to ask about how “someone new has come on the scene to ‘vindicate’ Thomas Jefferson from charges that he was pappy to at least one of Sally Hemings’ kids.” And who’s rushing to TJ’s rescue? Of course, that was answered by a new book, Jefferson Vindicated, by Charlottesville genealogist Cynthia Burton, who was interviewed by Ace.
By checking my own Web page (www.angelfire.com/va/TJTruth) and the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society Web page (www.tjheritage.org) you will be greatly enlightened as to who else is rushing to rescue TJ.
I was happy to read that Ace refrains from taking a stand on this matter, a courageous stance, I must say, since most of the media is biased in reporting the story. As a Jefferson family historian who assisted Dr. Eugene Foster with the test, I have firsthand knowledge of that bias in The Washington Post (their own ombudsman wrote a hot article completely naming their names and false reporting schemes) and in A&E’s “Biography” and PBS’ “Frontline,” both of which completely refused to use my interviews (their version of censorship) in their Sally Hemings programs after lengthy preparations.
I address the fine citizens of Charlottes-ville and Albemarle County to demand factual information from Monticello, who tried to sweep Dr. Ken Wallenborn’s Minority Report under the carpet. Dr. Wallenborn and two other longtime and dedicated Monti-cello guides resigned in protest, and today Dr. Wallenborn (a longtime Charlottesville resident) is president of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society.
Dr. Daniel Jordan, Monticello president, was made aware of a second source of Hemings’ DNA by myself, but refused to request permission to gain it from the Hemings family members. Where is his claim to follow research wherever it may lead him? Only one Hemings was tested, how can he claim on his Web pages that not only one, but possibly all of Sally’s children, were fathered by Thomas Jefferson? Ask some tough questions of Mr. Jordan and, in my opinion, his biased (as reported by Dr. Wallenborn) report of January 2000!
Also read from the above Web pages the results of a blue-ribbon Scholars Commis-sion report of 13 prominent senior scholars who took the Monticello report to task for their study. Two of those scholars were from your own UVA.
Herbert Barger
Ft. Washington, Maryland
CORRECTIONS
In last week’s FLOW, we listed the wrong Web address for interpersonal communication instructor, Dr. Caroline Davis. The correct address is www.caroline-davis.com.
Also, in the Big Picture, an Albemarle High School cheerleader was misidentified. The photo showed Charlotte Fraser.