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Held seeks first term
BY ANNE ADAMS • STAFF WRITER
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MONTEREY - Larry Held spent the bulk of his career in human resources, and after he learned Highland's three school board members would not be seeking reelection this year, he decided his expertise would be well-suited for the role.
"When I started to read and learn about the schools, I thought my background would be ideally suited for a school board position," he said. "I've got training as a teacher, training in human resources personnel management, worked as an analyst in programs, I liked to contribute to the community, and ... I'm retired, so I have the time. I thought that this was the best way to make a lasting contribution to the community."
Being relatively new to Highland County, and having no children in the system, Held believes, would be an asset. "I can objectively take a look at issues and facts, having worked at the school as a substitute and having been attending the majority of school board meetings over the last two years ... I've gotten to know kids and teachers," he said.
Held said the schools' current budget is working, but he sees an opportunity to do some long-range planning to make education dollars stretch a little farther here. "At the moment, (the budget) is probably adequate because they had money left over last year, but it's not a strategic budget," he said. "It doesn't look at the long-term issues or longterm problems as much as it should. Right now, we have a lot of teachers who have been here a long time and they're getting ready to retire. There's going to be a large group of teachers going out (and) we're going to have to replace those teachers.
"But right now our teacher pay is one of the lowest in the state," he said. "We want to attract really qualified and motivated and teachers who will come here and stay here for a long time, and I don't think we can do it if we can't be competitive.
"Also, as Mr. (Gary) Blair (Highland superintendent) has pointed out, that school is deteriorating. We're going to need a lot of maintenance in the future. As the school infrastructure ages, more attention needs to be paid to it ... (the) current budget doesn't recognize those issues." But, he noted, that means "we're going to have to spend more money on the schools. Taxpayers aren't going to like it, but I've got to be honest and say that's the way we've got to go."
To make ends meet, Held suggests there are opportunities for grant money that have yet to be explored. "We are a small isolated school system here. It might be possible to get some of the money to support programs through grants, which I don't think we've thoroughly explored. Might be able to work with our state legislators a lot closer and try to dig up money some place to support us, and I think the taxpayers are going to have to recognize they're going to have to dig into their own pockets, too, because if they want a school system, it's just the way life is here."
Held takes a broad view of Highland's future, and how the schools can play a role here. "There are several things we need to do in this county, and this is going beyond the school board, but ... I'm convinced we need to really work hard to bring in appropriate industry ... We're obviously not going to get (another) textile company but ... engineering firms, data storage, computer help desks ... (attract) families which will pay taxes. With a bigger base, build this community up in population. I'm looking at the big picture. Then the school system needs to be involved in that too. I think the school board really needs to work with the Economic Development Authority a little closer because in the long run, if the population of the school keeps dropping, it's going to be too expensive to keep going. And if the school goes, that's going to be the death of this community."
Getting creative
Held believes there are opportunities to im- prove education in Highland, and that his goal, if elected, would be to find ways to get the community involved more. "It could almost be like a private school. It's small enough, with effective teachers. I think the elementary school right now has fabulous teachers, very creative. But there's something that happens between elementary school and high school with the kids," he said. "I know part of it's caused by the SOLs, but there's so much more that could be done to motivate these kids and get them excited about learning. There's some really great kids over there. The one thing I can see from my point of view that's happening between elementary and high school is (that) parent involvement kind of disappears... maybe they're not as encouraged; there doesn't seem to be as much parental involvement. I've been going to the school board meetings and there's only one parent who consistently comes ... and I was kind of surprised ... you don't see even during school year, you don't see parents there," he said. "I'd like to, as a board member, really encourage the community to attend. I think if you learn a lot about the school, you have a better idea of where your money's going, and parents come up with good ideas that could be implemented. I'd like to get a lot of people excited about the school. It's the future of this community."
Leadership at the board level
"I like to lead by example," Held said. "I tend to want leadership positions for some reasons, maybe it's my ego or whatever, but I like when I can have an impact on the agenda. I believe in cooperation, and respect for other members of the board and the school itself. The school board shouldn't be involved in day-to-day operations; the board needs to be focused on the big picture, in setting direction, in making sure issues are resolved. Day to day is up to the super and principals," he said.
The current board has had a rough term, he said, "and I think they've come out of it magnificently. When (former superintendent Nancy Lightner) was here, I was a little disappointed in what they were doing, but at the same time, I think, as it turned out, they were very right about the situation. And I thought they did a great job in hiring Gary and they've really been able to take a bad situation and make it into a very good situation and right now you go to board meetings ... very little controversy. Things seem to go very smoothly."
In order to prepare himself as a candidate, Held has regularly attended most school board meetings. In addition, he's done extensive research on education issues and reviewed what other school districts do to get ideas. "If I'm elected, I'm retired, and would resign as a substitute teacher. Because of that, I (would) have the time to devote to go to state meetings and Virginia School Board Association meetings, and be able to spend whatever time's required to do the job. I would consider myself, if elected, almost a fulltime board member," he said.
Goals for the schools
Held said there are several issues he thinks should be addressed at the board level with the superintendent's support. "One of the things I think that could be done easily is getting the teachers into putting more information on their web site about what's going on. They do that a lot in the elementary school, but the high school teachers tend not to ... the information is dated ... I think they don't have time, maybe they're not trained, it's not an easy system," he said.
He'd like to see the fine arts offerings broadened, and points to Lee Beasley's drama club as an asset to students in that area. "I'm not complaining about the programs, but would like to see an upgrade in the arts ... drama, music, fine arts. The kids did a great job in that (drama performance) they did last year. I'd like to see them do a full fledge play, maybe work with the music teacher and do a musical. It would ignite the whole community," he said.
On the academic level, Held sees a need to focus on math and science. "Looking at the SOL scores, it shows we do have some need for upgrading (those) programs," he said. "They're not bad, but they could use something more." Ultimately, he'd also like to provide more emphasis on continuing education after high school. "I really think that education beyond 12 years is very important, he said, "and I'd like to see every one of our kids, whether they're academically-leaning toward college, or whether they're looking at other kinds of schools.
"Look at the differences between a high school degree and a college degree and what it adds up to in a lifetime of earnings. And it makes such a difference besides that ... get a better slant on life. I think we need to spend more time on that. We do a good job, but there are some who just want to get out of school and that's it. I'd like to get them more motivated, more excited about going on to something more. Twelfth grade is not the end of education in life ... Even if you want to be a farmer for the rest of your life, you'd get so much more out of farming if you had that cultural, advanced education. You'd be a better businessman or businesswoman. You'd understand what's happening in your environment. The school board probably can play a role in motivating. I don't think it should be totally invisible. (School board members) should come in and observe classes, talk to students sometimes," he said.
"I'm really motivated to do what's right for the kids, for the people here. They want a school board that listens to them. They don't want to pay anything more, but there are concerns the school is shrinking."
About the candidate
¦ Larry Held, 68 ¦ Moved to Highland four years ago with his wife, Susan. The couple has two grown daughters and three grandsons ¦ Earned his BA from Syracuse University in secondary education with a focus on social studies; earned his master's from George Washington University in human resources administration ¦ Spent 22 years working for the federal government as a human resources specialist/director, the last 11 years as a program analyst at the Department of Defense, Inspector General. Retired in 1995, worked for United Airlines for six years as an operations supervisor. ¦ Has been a subsitute teacher in Highland schools for two years, teaching a variety of subjects. ¦ Member, Highland Medical Center board of directors; member, Highland Historical Society board, Highlanders for Responsible Development, and Monterey Lions Club.
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