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Holton Praises

Racial progress

Former Gov. Will Speak At
Moton Museum On Sat.

By KEN WOODLEY
   FARMVILLE—Former Virginia Governor Linwood Holton will speak at the R. R. Moton Museum at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a free event open to the public as part of the museum’s celebration of the 1951 filing of Davis v Prince Edward and the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.
   Holton, while governor from 1970 to 1974, sent his children to public schools in the City of Richmond when school busing was mandated by courts to integrate schools.
   And the first Republican governor of Virginia since Reconstruction told The Herald on Tuesday that he is keenly looking forward to speaking at the museum, where he will also sign his new book, Opportunity Time.
   Speaking of the historic strike against separate and unequal schools at R. R. Moton High School on April 23, 1951, Gov. Holton said, “those students have been an inspiration to me since they put that strike on.”
   The 85-year old Holton, father-in-law of current governor Tim Kaine, added, “and they are also responsible for the participation of Oliver Hill in the Brown v Board cases and Oliver Hill became a very close friend of mine and he was an inspiration to me too.”
   The progress of racial reconciliation in Prince Edward County through the years has also inspired Gov. Holton, who described the transformation as “a turnaround from the…bias and prejudice against integration to being a model of race relations….Prince Edward has certainly occupied the iconic spot for leading Virginia to become a model of race relations.
   “I am very proud,” said the man who opposed the Byrd Machine during his political career, “of what the people of Prince Edward have done and I look forward to meeting them Saturday.
   “I am thrilled with the opportunity to be down there,” the former governor concluded.
   A leader of that historic student strike, John Stokes, will speak at the museum on the following Saturday, May 24 at 2:30 p.m. and sign his book, Students On Strike.

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Tuition Raised At Longwood

But Not As Much As Others

   FARMVILLE—The Longwood University Board of Visitors approved a tuition and mandatory fee increase of 4 percent (with 1 percent dedicated to financial aid) during their meeting on campus Saturday.
   Based on a 30-credit-hour schedule, the actual annual increase in undergraduate tuition will be 3.7 percent for both in-state and out-of-state students.
   Total costs (including room and board) will increase 7.1 percent from $14,334 to $15,358 per year for in-state residential students and 5.8 percent from $22,654 to $23,971 per year for out-of-state residential students.
   Annual costs for in-state commuter students will increase 5.5 percent from $8,058 to $8,502. Graduate tuition will increase by 10 percent, as those rates were held constant last year.
   “Tuition increases are required due to rising salary and benefit costs, fixed costs, escalating energy expenses, and funding needed for student financial aid. The approved rate increases will enable Longwood to meet those rising costs and provide additional financial aid to qualified students,” explained LU spokesperson  . . . . . . .

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School Buildings

In Cumberland

Saved For Future Use

By MEGAN HARRIS
   CUMBERLAND — Before plans are finalized in regards to turning over the current Cumberland Middle School buildings back over to the County, the School Board requested last month that research be conducted in regards to the cost analysis of moving grade levels from the Elementary School to those buildings because of the Elementary School becoming crowded.
   With that, Alvin Beasley, director of support services, and Amy Griffin, director of instruction and special education, gave a report on the instructional analysis of moving the fourth and fifth grades from the Elementary School to the pods at the current Cumberland High School or to the pods at the current Middle School.
   “When we met with the Board of Supervisors, at that time it was mentioned by one of the Board members to move some of the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students down to the Middle School,” said Chair Doris Seal, District Three. “When this started we were thinking that we weren’t quite sure what that thinking was and then we thought that to make better use of our facilities the fourth and fifth grade would be a better option because we know as we go forward we will need more space at the Elementary School.”
   Also, because the School Board Policy Manual is also being reviewed, Christine Curry Ross, District Five, explained that the Board would be looking at the policy that deals with the retirement of facilities in the near future.
   “That is part of the thinking also,” Ms. Ross said.
   George Lee Dowdy, District One, asked if moving the students to the High School pods had been researched.
   “I was just wondering why that wasn’t included?” he said.
   “If you look at the recommendation,” Ms. Griffin said, “the recommendation is to keep some of those pods…remaining for future use.”
   According to the administration’s recommendation, which was provided in the report, the move to the current Middle School would limit the reading and math course options available for the students in K-2 and 4-5.
   “They wouldn’t be able to . . . . . . .

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School Budget Adopted

In Cumberland

By MEGAN HARRIS
CUMBERLAND — The Cumberland County School Board adopted the 2008-2009 school budget totaling $16,838,820 during the May meeting on Tuesday.
Although the Superintendent, Dr. James “Jim” Thornton, was not able to attend the meeting due to an illness, Board Chair Doris Seal explained that the School Board is pleased with the amount of funding available for the upcoming fiscal year.
“We want to thank our Board of Supervisors for supporting this budget as well as they did,” Ms. Seal said, “and for all the hard work that got us to this. With a new school being built and with all the new school initiatives, we’re very lucky. The state budget was tight and the . . . . .

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LU Grads Have A

'Golden Ticket'

By KEN WOODLEY
   FARMVILLE—The degree they earned at Longwood University is like a “golden ticket” but using it wisely will be the key, LU graduates were told during commencement Saturday.
   “The piece of paper you are about to be handed will open more doors than imaginable…but it’s not the end all be all,” Col. Jayne Carson said. “A college degree will get you in the door but it will be up to you to choose what door you knock on and if you stay once the door is open.
   “You have the opportunity to be a superstar and champion at what ever you choose,” said the LU graduate and member of Longwood’s first class of ROTC cadets.
   “Graduates, you’ve hit the jackpot,” said. Col. Carson, who also taught at LU. “You have the opportunity to succeed, the opportunity to make your own decisions, the opportunity to work hard, or not to not work hard. And since you’ve been given much, there is much expected of you.”
   And expectations, she told them, can be an interesting thing. A person normally gets what they expect. So expectations matter.
   But, she told them, “the only real expectations that count are your own.”
   But that didn’t stop Col. Carson from sharing expectations she hoped the graduates would expect from themselves.
   “First, I expect you are, and want to be,” she told them, “men and women of character. People who do the right thing even when no one is watching.”
   Secondly, she expects them to be citizens who contribute to their communities and the greater world upon which they can have an impact.
   “Remember that this great gift of opportunity that you’ve been given,” she counseled, “is yours because of the country you are so lucky to live in.”
   Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address observation that the U.S. is a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” illustrates the necessity to be involved, to be the muscle and mind of what America is and can be.
   Col. Carson’s comment that only a third of Americans exercise their right to vote was supported by the 30 percent turnout in last Tuesday’s Farmville Town Council election.
   “Well, that’s just shameful,” she said of the two-thirds of Americans who decline to vote. “Part of being a contributing citizen is to vote, and not just in the national elections.” . . . . . .