Politics & Public Schools

For several months now, the Warren County School Board has been discussing whether or not to continue its membership in the VSBA. The issue was originally raised by Melanie Salins, who considers the organization to be a left-wing lobbying group. This is in spite of the fact that every public school board in Virginia is a member, and since each member school board has an equal vote, the power rests with rural, conservative-leaning boards of education. The solution she suggested was to withdraw our membership in the VSBA and instead hire our own attorney to advise the Board on the legality of its policies at a cost not to exceed $50,000 for the coming year. In contrast, membership in the VSBA is about $9,000 per year; for that money, the board gets services well beyond what a law firm would provide. In addition to advice on policies, the VSBA provides training for new board members, superintendent searches, an annual convention, and lobbying on matters of importance to public schools.

At its meeting on October 5th, the Warren County School Board voted unanimously to continue membership in the VSBA and to hire a lawyer to advise the board on its policies. Thus, we will be paying $59,000 for services that the VSBA provides for just $9,000. Ms. Salins “surprised” us by agreeing to vote “yes” on the motion to continue membership on the condition that she be named a delegate to the Delegate Assembly. I predict that other conservative county school board members are making similar demands with the idea of taking over the VSBA. Time will tell.

Ms. Salins and her supporters have argued that politics has no place in school board matters. The conditions attached to her vote betray a political agenda on her part. This same group has also been adamant about being fiscally conservative yet is promoting an expenditure of $59,000 for services that previously cost just $9,000. It seems that Ms.Salins will condone politics in public education if her politics prevail and that unnecessary spending is fine if it is her idea.

Janet Brome
Bentonville, VA