Charlottesville voters passed a referendum last night to change the local school board from an appointed to an elected body, according to the City registrar.
City officials said the passage of the referendum was not surprising in light of the fact that there was no organized opposition to the measure. City Mayor Dan Brown said he also expected the referendum to pass because people generally support increased democracy, and the Charlottesville school system has struggled with problems in the past year.
"I always expected it to pass for two reasons: People like democracy, and we had such a tough year last year with the school superintendent," Brown said. "People were ready for a change."
Proponents of the measure say it will increase the transparency of the board as well as its accountability to the public and the City. Previously, the school board has been appointed by the City Council but was subsequently an independent body.
However, some school board officials say they believe the prospect of campaigning will discourage potential board members from considering taking a school board position.
"You are going to exclude good candidates," school board member Ned Michie said. "Not everyone that will put their name in for an appointed position is the kind of person that would be willing to campaign. You could lose some competition and lose out on some good candidates."
While some say the referendum will remove historical barriers for diversity on the board, Michie said he thinks an elected school board will create financial obstacles for potential candidates and actually decrease the number of minority board members.
"The concern is that, over time, you lose diversity, and it creates economic hurdles for people," Michie said.
However, Michie said he thinks an elected school board still will be effective.
Brown said he is glad the referendum passed and that Charlottesville residents will facilitate the creation of a capable elected school broad.
"Charlottesville has a very engaged and talented group of citizens and parents," Brown said. "We have had a strong school board, and the challenge in the community is that we need to reach out and have good candidates."
Brown said while he does not believe the referendum will fundamentally change the school board, he said it most likely will increase the amount of public discussion about issues discussed by the board.
The first elections for school board members are scheduled to take place in May.
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