Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Franklin Mayor Paul Kaplan led a discussion at the Jan. 27 Franklin City Council meeting in which multiple members of the council expressed support for continuing with the city’s existing method of school board selection, which is via appointment by the council.

Kaplan initiated the discussion in light of Virginia Senate Bill 1404, which was introduced on Jan. 14.

“This proposal would have required all jurisdictions in the state go to an elected school board,” Kaplan said.

The following summary of the bill is found on LegiScan.com, “Requires election as the method of selecting the members of each school board in the commonwealth and makes several changes to eliminate provisions relating to appointed school boards. Current law requires such members to be appointed but permits their election under certain circumstances.”

Kaplan said, “It’s my personal opinion that we’ve had very good success here in Franklin with a School Board that the City Council selects.”

He said it was reported to him the day prior that SB1404 was killed in committee.

LegiScan reports that the bill, sponsored by District 36 Sen. Stella G. Pekarsky, D-Centreville, was defeated in the Committee on Education and Health with seven votes against, six votes for and two votes under the “Not Voting” category.

Kaplan said he would like to know more about how the council feels about the city’s school board selection method before he makes any bold statements to the General Assembly in Richmond.

“But if it is the council’s consensus that we stay with a selected school board, I think this would be a good year to start that process so that our General Assembly knows that there are those of us that have selected school boards (that) like the system and find it to be very successful,” he said.

Ward 4 Councilman Dr. Linwood Johnson said, “I would like to say there are pros and cons with an elected school board and one that is appointed, and as you know, we’ve had success with appointed school boards.”

He indicated that one of the factors that stood out to him on the method of selection is that the council has had some experiences in which it had to act for the betterment of the city’s school division by changing the representation on the Franklin City School Board.

With an elected board, “we would lose that power,” he said.

Ward 6 Councilwoman Jessica G. Banks said, “As a former appointed school board member in Wards 5 and 6, the pro for me would be the relationship that we are building with the School Board members in our wards. So by us being able to appoint, we can establish more so of a relationship and build that bond between them to ensure that the city is there for them in the capacity that we can be.

“I am in favor of the selected board as well,” she said.

Ward 5 Councilwoman and Vice Mayor Wynndolyn H. Copeland said, “I follow Mrs. Banks. I am in favor of the appointed school board.”

Ward 3 Councilman Gregory McLemore and Ward 1 Councilman Mark R. Kitchen were present but did not issue comments on the matter. Ward 2 Councilman Richard Grizzard was not present for the meeting.

Kaplan concluded the discussion with some additional comments, first saying, “I think that we build a relationship with that School Board and we can get more done together than we can fighting each other over things and it becomes political.

“One of the things that the (School) Board chair shared with me is they get paid $4,000 a year, and it costs you $800 to $1,000 to run a campaign,” Kaplan continued. “Who would jump into that in a small jurisdiction like this? 

“So I know there’s pros and cons to both sides, but I see the elected school boards as being very political,” Kaplan said.