Forum on school issues?

Many homeowners have seen the value of their property plummet recently. There is no doubt that a quality public education system is a major determinant of property values, but what actually constitutes a good school system, and will property values recover without one?

Last week Amy Condra, editor of The Gazette, suggested a forum for the people of Goochland County to raise issues and share a future vision for the place that we all call home. I would like to question how our community envisions the future of public education in this county?

Many parents were attracted to Goochland County by the quality of our public schools, but there is now concern about their future direction. During the recent budget process, people expressed a desire to save educational programs and resources and maintain pupil-teacher ratios. However, ten percent of the teaching positions in our schools were eliminated for the coming school year (while only six non-teaching positions were lost), core educational programs were scrapped, and supplies and textbook budgets decimated.

Alternative budget-cutting suggestions made to the school board and superintendent were disregarded, with no public discussion or financial explanation.

You may ask, “Why should we care” if our schools can be organized in such a way that the majority of the children will pass their SOLs? But SOLs are a bare minimum, and, bare minimum standards will not equip Goochland students to compete for jobs in a global economy. Eliminating programs and levels of education to homogenize the school system might make it easier to administer, and might boost SOL results in the short term, but is it in the best long-term interests of the students?

Do we need more two-way communication with the school board, and more transparency? Would this community be better served by elected or appointed parent school board members, or by staggered-term elections?

For the past year, and reportedly for the year before that, the current school board has approved every single proposal forwarded by the superintendent with a unanimous “aye” vote, which has led some to question whether the school board is merely “rubber-stamping” all of the superintendent’s decisions.

This brings the role of the superintendent into sharp focus - Goochland County has had three during the past 10 years. A superintendent that views Goochland as a “stepping-stone” to a higher-paid position in a larger school district might be tempted to utilize the system to suit their own short-term career goals.  Would Goochland County be best served by a superintendent who shares the vision of this community and is committed to remaining here to raise the quality of public education for the long-term?

Food for thought! The Goochland Education Parents Association welcomes the idea of a county forum, and encourages discussion of all education issues at http://forums.goochlandparents.com/.

Jane Christie
Manakin Sabot

Caution with electronic signs

I would like to thank the Planning Commission for deferring action at their last meeting related to electronic signs in Goochland County.

Advertising signs and digital billboards are designed to distract; if they don’t grab driver’s attention, they failed.  However, there are significant concerns that the brightness and movement associated with digital signage leads to substantially higher crash rates.  In fact, the Federal Highway Administration will soon release their findings regarding the potential traffic safety risks of digital billboards.

The digital billboard industry touts the flexibility of these signs, which can be changed quickly to announce Amber Alerts, local sports scores, and other public messages.  The opposition, such as Scenic America, notes the aesthetic, environmental, and safety issues involved with digital signage.

Based on current research, it appears that a wave a billboard permit lawsuits has hit the courts in recent years.  Bill Brinton, an attorney with Scenic America, explained in a recent industry publication how this “billboard shakedown” typically works.  A little-known company comes into a locality with a stack of sign permit applications, knowing that the locality sign code prohibits either the type or of location of signs it wishes to erect. 

Rather then lobby for ordinance changes or apply for variances, the company waits for the applications to be denied, then files a lawsuit to invalidate the entire sign code.  If the court tosses out the code, the company will ask the court to approve all of its applications, along with damages and attorney fees.  To avoid litigation, the company will offer to settle the case if the locality approves only a fraction of the sign permits.

To date, courts have repeatedly affirmed localities’ First Amendment right to ban billboards, and to limit their size, location, and placement.  Knowing this, the sign company will not attack the constitutionality of the sign code, but rather other sections of the code.  Thus far, the courts have, without exception, found in favor of the locality, including that a sign company cannot challenge sections of the sign code that are irrelevant to the denial of its permit application.

Clearly, the Goochland County Planning Staff and Planning Commissioners should periodically audit Goochland County’s sign codes to ensure they are current with evolving technology.

In the meantime, Goochland County should exercise extreme caution and adopt moratoria on new digital signs until comprehensive study can be given to this issue because once these signs are erected, they are almost impossible to remove.

Numerous localities around the country have taken this approach, including Los Angeles, El Paso, and St. Louis.  In addition to John Lewis updating us that Virginia Beach voted down electronic signs, a number of other states and communities have also enacted outright bans on such signs:  Maine; Vt.; Mont.; Pima County, Ariz.; Amarillo, Texas; Durham, N.C., Knoxville, Tenn.; and most recently, Denver, Colo. 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this important issue during the public hearing process.

Paul F. Costello
Manakin-Sabot

Rethinking our government
Recently I suggested that Goochland consider changing its form of government.

I was not the first to make that recommendation.

On Aug. 1, 1995, the Goochland County Commission on the Future, composed of Goochland citizens, delivered its report to the Board of Supervisors and in that report, there was a recommendation by this citizen committee, on page 32, that stated Goochland should do the following: Change the form of County government from the present County Administrator (Virginia Code Section 15.1-1-117) to County Executive (Virginia Code Section 15.1-603), thereby enabling the elimination of the positions of Commissioner of the Revenue and Treasurer (Virginia Code Section 15.1-588).

This group, after careful study, saw then, that to be efficient in the future, the county government had to change.

I would like to expand on that.

I must make it quite clear that I am not speaking for the Board of Supervisors, and I am not speaking of personalities.

Under the current system, Goochland’s Finance Department is divided into three separate autonomous departments. Goochland has been through a very difficult period, beginning with the utility department billing and collection problems and now we are in the midst of an economic slump of epic proportions which has made developing the Tuckahoe Creek Service District more difficult.

What have we learned from this experience? I think it is reasonable to look at everything we do and how we do it. With all the problems that face Goochland, accounting should not be one of them.

There are entrenched voices who will seek to stifle any thought of change. That is natural and expected. But I have faith that the citizens will consider our options, now, as they did in 1995 and reach the proper conclusion.

We have begun the process of improvement by hiring an outstanding County Administrator who has made amazing progress in only one year. We can build on this progress, if we have the courage, I know we do. Common sense always prevails.

James W. Eads
District Five Supervisor, Goochland County