Some see conflict in Chesapeake council packed with educators

CHESAPEAKE

The Chesapeake City Council has its share of educators.

Councilwoman Rebecca Adams is the principal of Great Bridge Intermediate School. Vice Mayor Dwight Parker has been a longtime teacher at Deep Creek High School. Councilwoman Ella Ward is the vice president of the Virginia Board of Education.

In a city known for its school system, some say Chesapeake benefits from having educators in leadership roles.

Others see potential problems. Councilman Alan Krasnoff, who is running for mayor against Adams, said he shelved plans to apply for a school counseling position partly because he sees a potential conflict of interest in voting on a

budget that could directly benefit him.

Others serving on the nine-member council don't see it that way.

"We're just a lot more sensitive to the schools and teachers than some councils may be," said Ward, who has more than 35 years of experience as an educator in Portsmouth. "We're willing to fight for those extra dollars for the school system."

As is the case in many Virginia localities, Chesapeake schools get roughly half of the city's revenue. In fiscal year 2007, funding for school operations, payments on school debt and money for school building projects accounted for about $430.6 million, or about 52 percent, of the city's $827.4 million budget, records show. From fiscal year 2006 to 2007, funding for school-related items increased by nearly $53 million.

Some city residents say the council's makeup results in too much money being directed toward education.

"I don't think the schools are necessarily entitled to half of the city's revenues," said retiree Al Shriner, who brought up the school funding issue at a budget forum last year.

Shriner blames it partly on the number of educators on the council. "If you work for (Superintendent W. Randolph) Nichols, I don't think you should be voting on where his money comes from," Shriner said this week.

Hampton Mayor Ross A. Kearney II, who was a teacher for 40 years and retired in 2007, said members of city councils vote on a total school budget and don't dictate where each dollar goes. He said he cannot recall a conflict of interest in his city over school funding.

"But if there is one, you just excuse yourself," he said.

In South Hampton Roads, other councils have members with past ties to education. Councils in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach all have former school board members, and some of the councils have former teachers.

But none of those councils have as many members with current ties to the schools. Chesapeake also has a few others with ties to education, such as Krasnoff, who has been a volunteer athletics coach, and Patricia Willis, a former School Board member.

Ward said that the educator presence is important to the Chesapeake council.

"You're talking about the one single agency that takes half of the city's budget," she said. That 50 percent has had a "major impact" in Chesapeake, she said, with about 80 percent going toward salaries. She said the council "takes pride" in the city's education system, which is a selling point for Chesapeake.

In Chesapeake, the public school system employs almost 6,000 people.

"Whether you are on the School Board or the City Council, the schools are supposed to be a priority in the city. It's one of the things that economic development will tell you brings people in," said School Board Chairman Tom Mercer. "You want to do everything that you can to support the schools, no matter where you work or where you come from, because it's part of the quality of life in Chesapeake."

Adams said that her experience as an educator has allowed her to recognize the difference between schools' wants and needs.

"The role of the City Council is to see the school budget in the perspective of the total city budget," she said. "If I'm voting on something, I'm voting for the city, not for the schools system."

Parker and the other educators on the council say they have not exclusively focused on schools. The council has made progress on a variety of issues, including the revitalization of South Norfolk, he said.

"If we gave all the money to schools, I think it would be skewed," Parker said. "We don't have blinders on. We see the big picture."

Voters in the May 6 election could elect give the Chesapeake council even more of a background in education.

Candidate Rick West is a retired middle school principal. West said he sees more potential for a conflict in current school employees voting on budget issues that could affect their salaries. "I see where perception could be a problem," he said.

Since he is retired, he said, he can look at the school system from a more objective point of view.

Staff Writers Dave Forster, Deirdre Fernandes, Meghan Hoyer, Amy Jeter and Harry Minium contributed to this report.

Mike Saewitz, (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com

Amy Coutee, (757) 222-5216, amy.coutee@pilotonline.com