Debt to Portsmouth schools clouds candidacy

The annual Juneteenth Festival in Hampton Roads is a worthy effort to raise public awareness about the history of slavery in our nation and foster a community dialogue about race relations.

Unfortunately, the festival's director, Sheri Bailey, has done the organization - and her re-election campaign for the Portsmouth School Board - a serious disservice by allowing the nonprofit to run up a two-year-long debt with the city school system.

As The Pilot's Cheryl Ross reported Thursday, the Juneteenth Festival Co. owes the school system more than $6,000 in rental fees to hold the event and related fundraisers at I.C. Norcom High School the past two years. The fees are charged by the school system to defray the cost of electricity, custodial services and other items.

School Superintendent David Stuckwisch said he learned prior to the festival last June that the previous year's debt had not been paid. Since the event had already been publicized, he agreed to let the group use Norcom's grounds but not the buiding.

Despite that reprieve, Bailey and her group still didn't pay. She told The Pilot that the group also owes the IRS about $15,000.

The situation raises serious questions about Bailey's judgment as a School Board member and her ability to help oversee its finances. As a board member, she knows full well the school system cannot afford to let bills go uncollected for two years.

We recently recommended that voters support Bailey and the other School Board incumbents seeking re-election May 6, largely on the strength of their collective work raising teachers' salaries and boosting the number of accredited schools in Portsmouth. But Bailey's failure to ensure her group paid its bills to the school system is sufficient reason for voters to reject her bid for a second term.