In Loudoun, Challengers' Path Ends at School Door

The 90 seconds it takes a parent to walk from the parking lot to the front door on back-to-school night is Loudoun County School Board candidate John R. Feegel's window to elbow past supervisor candidates, hand out brochures and woo target voters. When his opponent, incumbent Priscilla B. Godfrey, walks straight into the school, chatting easily with parents, Feegel steams from the sidewalk.

The school system's practice of keeping candidates outside is "unfair," Feegel said. School officials "don't appreciate that this is a democratic process," he said.

Back-to-school nights are prime time for glad-handing the voters least likely to skip the school board race near the end of a busy ballot: concerned parents. With school board campaigns in Northern Virginia in full swing after Labor Day and the start of the school year, some challengers say campaign policies make it hard to compete with incumbents.

The typical back-to-school night is "a magnet for candidates," Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde B. Byard acknowledged. "But it isn't a campaign rally. It's a chance to come back to meet teachers, to get a schedule, to tour the building. We want candidates to respect the primary reason parents are there."

Rules for on-campus politicking vary across Northern Virginia. In Loudoun, where six of nine seats are being contested this year, non-incumbents must stay 40 feet from the school building during school events. In Fairfax County, where seven of 12 school board seats are being contested, candidates are supposed to remain on the sidewalk and may not post signs. There are similar rules in Arlington County, which has one candidate for one open seat.

In Prince William County, where two of eight seats are being contested, campaigning is not permitted on school property during school-sponsored events. Belkacem Hacene-Djaballah, a Neabsco district candidate, said he meets parents at school-bus stops and hopes to circulate at PTA meetings.

Each jurisdiction allows elected school board members to go inside schools to address or mingle with parents but not to seek votes for reelection. Often, meetings' start times are delayed to give members time to make the rounds.

Godfrey, who represents the Blue Ridge district on the Loudoun board, has many back-to-school events on this month's calendar. Some nights, she has three penciled in; on one night, five. When she can't stay to give her speech, the principal shows a video of her remarks.

Her duty as a board member is to inform parents about a $15.5 million bond referendum this year seeking to raise money to buy land for future schools. It's a critical issue in her western Loudoun district, where a land-use dispute has delayed the opening of a planned high school while litigation is pending in the Virginia Supreme Court.

Michele Wacker, a PTA vice president at Round Hill Elementary School in western Loudoun, said that she could do without the fliers from candidates outside but that she appreciated the chance to hear from her elected representative inside.

Board members are supposed to stick to a brief message and leave their campaigning outside, although school officials acknowledge that speeches have been known to meander.

Thomas A. "Tag" Greason, a write-in candidate for the Broad Run seat on the Loudoun board, said that as a parent, he appreciates the absence of indoor politicking at back-to-school nights.

But as a candidate, outdoor time is critical. Greason was disqualified from the ballot in July because of errors in his petitions to the county registrar. His campaign has nonetheless garnered the endorsement of the Loudoun County Republican Committee and the local teachers union, but he has far to go in name recognition, he said.

The incumbent he is challenging, Bob Ohneiser, eschews the signs, fundraising and pamphlets of traditional campaigns, but he makes sure to attend as many back-to-school nights as possible.

While Ohneiser is inside talking to parents, Greason is passing out as many pamphlets as he can. And Greason said it's worth it: He figures that in 15 minutes, he can meet as many as 60 engaged parents.

"It would take me a whole weekend to knock on 50 or 60 doors," he said.

Staff writer Maria Glod contributed to this report.