Passing the gavel, Frank Wilson marked the official beginning of a new year for the county School Board, and also kicked off his third decade on board.
“Twenty years of experience does make a difference when we come to tough issues,” said Board member Elaine Furlow. “Candor is always appreciated when it’s in the service of kids.”
At their July 1 meeting, Board members held their annual election of school board chair, electing Libby Garvey as chair and David Foster as vice chair. The School Board year begins on July 1, so Garvey will serve as chair throughout the 2004-05 school year, and the chair position is held by board members on a rotating basis.
This school board has been together for a while, Garvey said, and the stability has helped Arlington schools and students. “I realized last night, we have all been together about five years as a team,” she said. “Since we formed this team, student achievements have continued to rise … and all Arlington schools are cited nationally for their achievement.”
But the board, and the school system, still has room to grow, she said. “There’s a tendency to say, very good is good enough. But I think we can do better.”
<b>THIS YEAR,</b> the board will rewrite its Strategic Plan, a document that sets out goals for the school system for the next six years. The School Board approved goals for the strategic plan at their June 24 meeting, and will continue work on those goals and methods to implement them until the plan is approved in February.
Many of the goals approved in draft form by the board last month continue efforts already underway in the school system: eliminating the achievement gap for minority students; prepare students for success in jobs or in college; provide education that responds to different students’ abilities and obstacles; keep quality-of-life within the schools high; and build “cultural competence,” preparing Arlington students to live and work in a global culture.
In addition, Garvey said, the board must learn to deal with the changing demographics of the county. A recent survey showed that half of the county’s population doesn’t know anything about Arlington public schools, a statistic that could be linked to a large population of young apartment dwellers.
Other board members agreed, ignorance of what goes on in county schools must be addressed. “Arlington has always been extremely generous with tax dollars,” said Elaine Furlow. “But we’re aware of moving vans, and a lot of turnover. We’re all committed to community engagement.”
<b>AT THE COUNTY</b> level, chairmanship of the County Board rotates among sitting board members, all Democrats, with the position falling to whichever Board member is up for reelection. Board seats are up for election every four years.
The position as chair does give an incumbent candidate some benefits in terms of exposure. Challengers have complained of the practice in the past.
School Board members have approached the chair position similarly, but politics plays a smaller role in the decision since chair elections occur in the middle of an election year.
In Virginia, School Board members are legally non-partisan, but may seek the endorsement of one or more political parties. On the Arlington board, all members except Foster ran for election with the endorsement of the Democratic party. Foster, while supported by some Republicans, did not run with any endorsements.
This year, Wilson and Garvey will run for re-election in November. Foster is not up for election this year, having won another term on the board last November.