Alexandria School Board Will Have New Look, Priorities

Eight of Nine Current Members Are Not Seeking Re-Election

When Alexandria voters go to the polls on May 2, they will have an opportunity to remake the city School Board.

For the first time since the Alexandria School Board became an elected body 12 years ago, eight of the nine board members are not seeking re-election. Their departures come after a contentious three years during which board members fought over whether the system's students should be allowed to attend a prestigious governor's school in Fairfax, whether they should double their own salaries and whether the superintendent should be fired. Many of the outgoing board members cited family or work pressures as reasons for leaving, but some have also alluded to the difficulty and stress of being on a board whose disagreements often deteriorated into personal attacks.

Charles Wilson is the only incumbent seeking re-election; 13 newcomers are vying for the three-year positions, which run concurrently. Voters will pick three candidates in each of three districts -- A, B and C.

Candidates list accountability, improving teachers' salaries and better communication as among the most important issues facing the board. And some have said that if elected, one of their top priorities would be a search for a new superintendent.

The board has been engulfed in controversy for two years over its decision to renew Superintendent Rebecca L. Perry's contract after she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2004. After eight months of turmoil over the issue, the board voted 7 to 2 to extend Perry's contract through 2008.

Some of the candidates declined to discuss their views on Perry until after the election. But Peter Atherton said the board should not have renewed her contract. And Claire Eberwein, a former City Council and School Board member, and Peter Smeallie, who has served in various school-related organizations, both say a "prompt" search for a new superintendent is among their goals.

Arthur Peabody Jr. said most of the people he has talked to during his campaign have questioned the contract renewal. But Elynn Simons said the voters she has talked to are divided.

"I'm being lobbied on both sides," she said. "I hear some people say she's a wonderful administrator who's very good at getting things done. I've heard others say, 'Show her the door.' I look forward to sitting down with her, not as a candidate, but as a School Board member, and saying, 'Which is it?' "

The board was also divided over whether to allow Alexandria high school students to attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County.

When Thomas Jefferson opened two decades years ago, the board decided against participating, citing the cost and concern that T.C. Williams, the city's public high school, would lose top students. Last month, the board approved a pilot program that will fund admission for two students in the 2007-08 school year.

Simons said that if elected she would seek to reverse the decision.

"It just sends the wrong message," she said, adding that T.C. Williams has a strong science program that would be undermined if its best students leave for Thomas Jefferson.