Wyatt: Elected vs appointed
At a recent city council candidate forum, the question was asked: "Should school board members be elected or appointed?" While Henry County elects its school board members, the city council appoints members to the Martinsville School Board.
Four of the five candidates said they supported the election of school board candidates, while the only incumbent, Kathy Lawson, said the matter would have to be decided by referendum and she would support "a decision the people should make."
The answer to this question goes deeper than it appears.
First of all, let's talk about "qualifications." I hear this word frequently during the election process regarding candidates who are on the ballot for various offices.
We live in a country where a felon may run for, and be elected to office, while prohibited by law from voting. Let that sink in.
Other than the requirements for being placed on the ballot, the only "qualification" a candidate must have is more votes than the other candidates seeking the same office.
When it comes to small localities, like Martinsville, there is also the "percentage factor."
Regardless of who might be best suited to fill a position, there is a small percentage of people who are willing to sacrifice all that is involved in running for an elected office. There is an incredible amount of effort, time, and money involved for anyone who seeks public office by election — just ask anyone who has been elected, or tried.
As of June 26, the city of Martinsville has posted on its website, 30 vacancies on various commissions and boards and is seeking volunteers to serve on them.
Apparently, we don't have enough citizens willing to volunteer to serve on the Anchor Group Home Commission, Arts and Cultural Committee, Blue Ridge Regional Library Governing Board, Board of Appeals, Board of Zoning Appeals, Citizen Advisory Board, Dan River Alcohol Safety Action Program Policy Board, Henry County-Martinsville Joint Social Services Board, Industrial Development Authority, Planning Commission, Southern Area Agency on Aging Board, Transportation Safety Commission, and Tree Board.
It is reckless to say we should make an appointed position and elected position when we are unable to recruit enough volunteers to serve in unfilled positions already.
Candidate John Wilson III commented that school board members should be elected, but the pool of candidates should be restricted to educators. I couldn't disagree more.
While educators may have a direct-line to the needs of educators, matters of a school board reach far beyond the classroom. I fail to see how an art teacher might be more qualified to examine the depreciation schedule of a fleet of maintenance equipment than a local business professional who analyzes similar figures on a regular basis.
Without being disparaging to any one person, it has been my experience that people seeking a position on a school board, too often are motivated by some personal issue involving a student, who is his or her son or daughter.
While I admire such a person for wanting to seek a position of power in order to effect a personally perceived needed change, this circumstance is hardly representative of the greater needs of the community.
Martinsville chose to appoint its school board members for a reason: we are a small community with many good people who might accept a fairly thankless job and do well at it, but faced with the daunting notion of a requirement to face an election, would deprive us of potentially expert service.
So, we have a school board that is filled by indirect representation. We elect our council members, and entrust them to choose the appropriate people to run our public school system.
Given that the greatest cost to Martinsville and Henry County taxpayers is our public educational system, we continue to do ourselves a disservice by operating two independent school systems.
Whether you supported the reversion of Martinsville to a town, or not, the overwhelming evidence, post-NAFTA, supports a combined school system for Martinsville and Henry County.
The "percentage factor" supports an elected school board for a combined system, and the efficiency savings are undisputed.
The potential for a modern educational system in Southside Virginia exists right here in Martinsville and Henry County. If "working together" is the new theme of the day, perhaps we should embrace this notion without the baggage and encumbrances of combining governments.
Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-591-7543. Follow him Catch the latest in Opinion
