November 9, 1981
The school board and community have been sharply divided since the early 1970's--first over court-ordered busing for desegregation in the 90,000-student system, and later over the performance of former Superintendent E.C. Grayson. Mr. Grayson was fired in August 1980 and has been replaced by Donald W. Ingwerson, who is known as a conciliator.
Against a background of high unemployment, a low proportion of voters with children in public schools, and a desegregation order unpopular with many residents, the Columbus, Ohio, schools last week won their first tax increase in 13 years.
The other incumbent officers of the union, which represents 31,000 teachers, also won re-election. They are: Vice-Presidents Michael Bennett, Lorraine Farquhar, Marvin Katz, and Elsie Akita Myers; Treasurer Williamm Zimmerman; and Secretary Roberta Leap. All won by more than the 50 percent needed to prevent run-off elections. There will, however, be run-off elections for the 45-member board of directors, which represents the teachers by geographic areas.
At the council's October conference in Cleveland, two major topics--existing teacher shortages and "the declining talent pool" in teacher education--were discussed.
Mr. Kean's victory, if it is upheld by a recount, could have a substantial impact on education in the state.
School Superintendent Terry Waters said that school employees received termination notices Wednesday afternoon following the 149-vote defeat of the proposal. The unofficial vote tally was 1,635 in favor of the tax increase and 1,784 against, according to the county clerk's office.
There were 200,000 one-room schools in the United States at the turn of the century. Today, there are a little over 1,000 in operation. Fire, intentional demolition, neglect, and natural deterioration have destroyed many of the buildings as well as the larger rural schools that used to exist.
A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruling that ended the strike and ordered the school system to re-hire 3,000 teachers "exacerbates our already very severe financial problems," Mr. Marcase explained.
Of the winning incumbents, Barbara Lett Simmons, an at-large candidate, received 16.9 percent of the vote in a field of 18 candidates. R. Calvin Lockridge, a former school-board president, received 39.1 percent of the vote to defeat six other candidates in his ward.
All four of the seats up for election this year were won by candidates who had support from the Business Roundtable, a group concerned with the system's financial, managerial, and image problems.
The Hendrick Hudson Central School District contends that it is not obligated under federal law to provide a sign-language interpreter for Amy Rowley, a deaf fourth-grader who reportedly performs at the top of her regular class. School officials say they were complying with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in providing a hearing aid, therapy, and tutoring for the child.
Boston voters last week ousted two school-committee members whose names were dragged through a long extortion trial recently--and, at the same time, the voters approved a dramatic change in the way future boards will be chosen.
Terrence St. Peter, Caribou city manager, said supporters of creationism petitioned to have the referendum placed on the ballot after the local school board refused to include creationism theory as a curriculum requirement6alongside the theory of evolution. He said, however, that the school board would not have been obligated to reverse its earlier decision if the local referendum had been approved by voters because it is authorized by state law to set the curriculum.