School board race to be decided Tuesday

HUNTINGTON -- For candidates seeking to serve on the Cabell County School Board, there is no tomorrow after Tuesday's West Virginia primary election.

That election will determine which two of the eight candidates will serve on the board, starting their four-year terms on July 1.

Each of the candidates say they bring something to the table. Incumbents Ted Barr, the current board president and Suzanne McGinnis Oxley, who, like Barr, is finishing her second term on the board, have helped bring about the largest bond issue in Cabell County history, which is being used to build four new schools across the county.

District 5 candidate George Watson is a former Huntington High teacher, now a professor in the education department of Marshall University.

The other District 4 candidate besides Barr is Nancy Newfeld, an involved parent of three who has experience working as a transportation engineer for the city of Dallas in Texas. Also running in the same district is Garland Parsons, who worked in the Cabell County Schools maintenance department for nearly 50 years.

District 3 candidates are parent and former youth coach Albert Clark and retired CSX and military man Larry Carrico, who also has ushered his children through the Cabell County school system.

District 2 candidates are Oxley and Jerry Brewster, the former Cabell County Schools superintendent who was in charge when Cabell Midland and the new Huntington high schools were built.

The race has been a hot topic because of the issues involved, namely the proposed consolidation of Beverly Hills and Enslow middle schools. Also up for debate is where a new middle school could be built.

The candidates have been split on both issues, with some rejecting the idea of consolidation and instead proposing to find the money to renovate the two schools. Some who support consolidation are undecided on a location and whether to build it on land adjacent to the Cabell County Career Technology Center, 1035 Norway Ave., which is just outside the city limits.

Brewster favors consolidation of the two middle schools, but he's against building a new school on the technology center property.

"They really do need to be consolidated, but there has to be a site that is acceptable by the public," he said.

Oxley believes in consolidating the two middle schools, but she is torn on where to build a new school.

"The tech center is not my first choice," Oxley said. "It should remain in Huntington."

Parsons has spoken out against consolidation and would like the board to look for other funding sources to bring the two schools up to code.

"This would keep the children in the community," he said.

Newfeld said she would like to see the middle schools stay in their respective communities, but consolidation may be the only answer.

"The schools should stay in the neighborhoods, but the reality is, consolidation may be necessary," she said. "In this day and age, if a building is not handicap accessible, that's unacceptable."

Barr said he hasn't made up his mind about Beverly Hills and Enslow. But he knows parents of students at those schools will want and deserve a school that is up to par with the new facilities currently being built for Barboursville, Milton and Huntington middle schools.

Watson is against consolidation. He said the schools were built to last and can be fixed.

"You can renovate and refurbish for a fraction of the cost," Watson said, adding that he understands that money to renovate isn't as easily accessible as it is for building new schools. But money from the School Building Authority isn't guaranteed either.

Carrico said in a questionnaire from The Herald-Dispatch that if consolidation must occur, the new school should be inside city limits, preferably at Rotary Park. But he'd rather see the schools renovated and brought up to code.

Clark is against consolidation. But if consolidation does move forward, Clark hopes a location inside Huntington city limits is available because it enables children to walk to schools and provides better response time for emergency officials.

Profiles and more detailed information on each candidate is available at our Election 2008 site at www.herald-Dispatch.com.