Educating Norfolk

Ask, first, not what you can do for your neighborhood.

In the election of school board members, ask, first, what you can do for your city and for the children of the city and for future generations.

Norfolk's parents, policy makers and educators squat on the precipice of a profound decision. It shouldn't be squandered and riven by partisan politics.

The Public has a choice.

The Public can choose to elect school board members from a pool of eligible candidates from the entire city in an at-large elections.

Or it can choose to elect school board members based upon the ward system, which would perpetuate incumbency and lead to decay and intransigence.

The Public can voice their concerns and register their comments at two public forums this month. The first meeting will be held Thursday, Dec. 4, at Ruffner Middle School. The second open forum will be held Thursday, Dec. 11, at Granby High School.

Both meetings begin at 6pm.

So far, the education of Norfolk has been rather sluggish; sometimes it was doubtful if Norfolk would finally enter the 21^st century.

Yet Norfolk trudges forward.

In less than two years, school board terms have been extended from two to three years and school board members will be elected by The Public rather than appointed by City Council. City Council is open to suggestions, hence the two public forums.

“Norfolk Council must provide specific guidance on how they wish to proceed regarding the method by which the citizens of Norfolk elect their school board,” wrote Bryan Pennington, Director of Intergovernmental Relations for the city, in an email.

“Under current law, the Norfolk Council has existing authority to have a popularly elected school board that is either elected at-large or by the current established Council Ward boundaries.”

Even political pundit Vivian Page advocates for an at-large election of school board members.

“I’ve lived here long enough to see that the ward system has not been good for Norfolk,” Page wrote in a column. 

“To get anything done in this city, you have to be able to count to 5,” Page wrote “Meanwhile, we voters only get to count to 3. We cast ballots for a ward, a superward and the mayor. How do we get council to listen to our concerns when they don’t need our votes?”

“We don’t need to make that mistake with the school board,” Page wrote.

Supporters of an elected school board say that it will give them more authority and more autonomy from City Council.

Should City Council swing in favor of a ward style election, voters will seek their own self-interest. It will end badly.

So consider the children, not your ward.