The Virginian-Pilot
©
PORTSMOUTH
James Bridgeford, the School Board's longest-serving member, was unanimously re-elected to his seventh term as chairman Thursday night.
Bridgeford has served on the board since 1990, and he thanked everyone for their confidence in him.
Elizabeth Daniels kept her vice chairwoman position in a 5-3 vote. Board Clerk Kathy Chambliss and Deputy Board Clerk Laura Chandler were unanimously re-elected.
In other news, after months of talks, the board walked away Thursday with no policy on marching bands in the city's high schools. Mark Whitaker had argued for one that would require high schools to have high-stepping marching bands unless they could provide a compelling reason otherwise.
Churchland High's marching band performs corps style, while I.C. Norcom High does high-step.
Months ago, when Whitaker got the band discussion rolling, Wilson, the city's only other high school, did not have a marching band. Whitaker had said the administration should have ensured Wilson had one, so "if it's not going to be done by the administration, the board has to step in."
Thursday, only Whitaker, Daniels and board member Costella Williams voted in favor of a policy that stated, in part, "All Portsmouth high schools shall have a marching band. All marching bands will be trained in and perform using a high-stepping style."
Though the proposed policy failed, Wilson will have a marching band next school year. It's already starting up, said Superintendent David Stuckwisch, and will perform with high energy.
High energy is a term that has been used to describe high-stepping.
Cheryl Ross, (757) 446-2443, cheryl.ross@pilotonline.com
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Same old School Board = same old problems.
Maybe running a band is the best thing for the School Board. They sure can't seem to graduate students from HS. The city keeps pouring money into the schools with no results. We need to flush the entire school board and get some new ones who know what priorities are. The City also need to send roudy, disruptive students to the Sheriff for a little education in the scared straight program. Oh I forgot...the same City took away the moeny for that program.
Hello out there--Not
Hello out there--Not everyone is meant to high-step. There are colleges out there that have Corp style bands--oh and not all students are comfortable with it.
Marching Bands
I cannot believe Dr. Whitaker thinks marching bands in the schools is a priority. I have heard his comments on this issue before and believe he has become obsessed with this issue. Is there a hidden agenda? While I think the schools need to have a well rounded curriculum including music, art, and sports, the core issues facing the Portsmouth schools (Funding, drop-out rate, pass-fail rate, et-al,) need to be addressed first. In my opinion he has become un-fit to be a member of the board, but rather is part of the problem. And yes, I did vote for him when he first ran for office.
Mark Whitaker
Mark Whitaker is the problem. He needs to focus more of being an elected official to the school board than an Al Sharton wanna be. Do your job. He has a record of bringing out racial issues instead of dealing with real problems at hand for the troubled school system. He needs to GO! Portsmouth do with Whitaker what you did with Holley.
What????
This would be funny, if it wasn't so serious. The Portsmouth School Board has truly lost its way. So sad. I feel sorry for the students who must attend schools controlled by these people. For them to dictate not only whether a high school has a band, but what type of marching they do, is incredible. What if no students want to join a marching band? So, if there is no interest, will they be forced to offer incentives? Free lunches perhaps? Never mind, most are probably getting free lunches already.....
Micro managing??
What in the world? Why is a School Board member telling a highschool or band how to run their marching style? Laughable.
Next they will be telling citizens that a new Portsmouth gradeschool has to be designed with the African flag type colors...instead of our country's red, white and blue ones.
Oh, that has already happened...look at the new gradeschool by City Park...that is one ugly design!
Please School Board, stick to important things...like teacher accountability and academic achievement.
Portsmouth School Board
Members of the School Board want to require only high stepping band moves -- what`s next, the basketball teams can only play zone defense? These people have lost their direction.
Portsmouth School Board
Someone help me better understand this story - so the same Portsmouth School Board that manages the worst school system in the state, including a dismal gradutaion rate and drop out rate, one of the worst SOL average score - and these people are debating about rather a school's marching band should high step or not!
Someone please explain why this is even on their agenda.
The blind leading the blind. Very sad.
when i look
When i look at the performance of Portsmouth s public schools how much money they spend and now i watch them re appoint the same good old boys i am reminded of a quote for a man much wiser then I.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein, (attributed)
US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)
Have a great day