Norfolk vote pressures School Board member

NORFOLK

A divided City Council might not reappoint a prominent incumbent when it meets this afternoon to fill four of seven School Board seats.

Billy Cook, an Army officer who has waged a high-profile campaign against youth violence that intensified after his son was wounded in a drive-by shooting last year, could lose his School Board position, several council members said.

Cook raised the ire of some council members with his role in a recent HBO television special on gang violence in Hampton Roads. The show, which aired in April, portrayed Norfolk in a negative light, some council members said.

It has also been widely rumored that Cook, 46, will challenge incumbent Councilman Paul R. Riddick in next May's council election. Riddick has served on the council since 1992.

Cook would not discuss his future political aspirations Monday.

"I'm just trying to take it one day at a time," he said. "Right now I'm a School Board member. If tomorrow I find out I'm not a School Board member, then I'll just try to figure out the next area I can serve."

He also said that he was not responsible for HBO focusing its recent special on Norfolk. "Folks are giving me way too much credit in terms of my influence," Cook said.

Riddick had surgery last week and will miss tonight's meeting but is expected to vote via telephone. He did not return phone calls to his cell phone Monday.

Marian Flickinger, president of the Norfolk Federation of Teachers, said it would be upsetting if Cook is removed from the board.

She described him as an advocate for teachers and someone with a strong interest in ensuring discipline is enforced. Cook's wife, Sharon, is a longtime Norfolk school teacher.

"He's willing to question if he doesn't think things are going as they should," Flickinger said. "Of all the people on the board, he's one of the more devoted in terms of really going out into the schools and seeing what's going on."

Councilman Don Williams said he is undecided on whom he will support for all four School Board positions. He said Cook may have had good intentions about the HBO special that went awry.

"I don't think that's something you hold against him," Williams said. "That's my personal opinion, but some of my colleagues don't agree."

The council is split on other candidates as well.

A total of eight people have been nominated for the four seats. Three are incumbents: Cook, Jim Driggers and Lillian Wright. Chairman Barry Bishop asked not to serve again.

Four of the five potential newcomers have a good chance of being appointed tonight, council members said, including former School Board member Alveta Green. Other potential newcomers include the Rev. Kirk Houston Sr., pastor of the Gethsemane Community Fellowship Baptist Church, financial adviser George Nottingham and Karen Jones Squires, who co-chaired the school system's long-range facilities citizen advisory committee.

Dan Montague, who ran against Mayor Paul Fraim three years ago, nominated himself for the School Board, but he has no known support among council members.

"This is the most complex set of circumstances I've ever seen," Councilman Barclay C. Winn said.

"Usually, it's pretty cut and dried. But this is a free-for-all. There are so many qualified people, I don't think I would bet at this point on any result."

Norfolk is among a handful of cities and counties in Virginia that appoint school boards. Most others, including Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk, allow voters to choose board members.

The Norfolk public school system serves roughly 34,500 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade.

The council will meet this afternoon behind closed doors then could vote on the appointments in the 7 p.m. public session. No public comment will be allowed. Councilman W. Randy Wright said the council is so divided, the vote might be postponed until next week.

Only one thing seems certain, Wright said: The council will retain the 4-3 black majority on the board, meaning two African Americans and two whites likely will be appointed.

Bishop describes Cook as thoughtful and engaged but declined to comment on tonight's vote. "The bottom line for everyone on the School Board is that we all serve at the pleasure of the City Council," he said.

Pilot reporter Amy Jeter contributed to this story.

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com