THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 7, 1995 TAG: 9512070337
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
The school district's former accounting director who allegedly was forced out two years ago by then-Superintendent Sidney L. Faucette could be on his way back.
Interim Superintendent James L. Pughsley on Wednesday, saying ``the district had the need'' to fill the position, offered Allen S. ``Sammy'' Cohen his old job back.
Pughsley's decision to fill the post disturbed City Council members. The council has pressured the board to merge the city's and schools' accounting, payroll and purchasing staffs to save money and increase oversight of the district's books.
The council voted unanimously last month to ask the General Assembly to force consolidation if the board wouldn't do it voluntarily.
Cohen, now the finance officer in the Currituck County, N.C., school district, lost his job in 1993 when Faucette eliminated the position in an administrative reorganization.
Cohen said he has yet to formally accept the offer. But he said he wants to return to the district and plans to give Pughsley an answer by the end of the week.
In addition to Cohen's appointment late Tuesday, the board unanimously voted to settle three lawsuits, one filed by Cohen. Each suit sought at least $50,000 in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and back pay. The discussion took place behind closed doors.
Pughsley declined to discuss details of the settlements, saying he would fully disclose them after specifics had been worked out in about a week. Cohen, 44, also declined to discuss the settlement. The plaintiffs' attorneys did not return phone calls.
Faucette's bureaucratic shake-up led Cohen and two demoted male administrators to file federal discrimination suits against the board last year after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rejected their claims of age and gender discrimination. Faucette left the district this summer for a position in Gwinnett County, Ga.
All three cases were scheduled for trial next Monday. By Wednesday, lawyers for the plaintiffs had not filed official documentation of the settlements with the court.
The other men - Michael T. Gilliatt, a former art coordinator; and John Roberson, a former math coordinator - could not be reached for comment. Both are now teachers in the district. Pughsley declined to say whether they would remain in those positions or be transferred elsewhere.
The central office did not disclose how much Cohen would earn or when he would start. But Cohen, accounting director from 1989 to 1993, seemed eager to return.
``I'm very interested in getting back with the people I miss, and doing what I can in the financial accountability area,'' he said.
Cohen said he would work hard to help the district tackle a projected $6.6 million deficit for 1995-96 and avoid any repeat of the $12.1 million budget shortfall in 1994-95 - which led to a special grand jury investigation now underway.
After the closed-door session, the board voted to accept Pughsley's recommendation to rehire Cohen as director of accounting and payroll services. Cohen, Pughsley said, was the best qualified in the field of about two dozen applicants.
The board settled the suits on the advice of Richmond attorney D. Patrick Lacy, whom the district hired to look into the cases.
Several board members said the decision was solid.
``Given the fact that there were 20-plus applicants and (Pughsley) came to us and stated that he chose Sammy because he was the best-qualified . . . that's good enough for me,'' board member Robert W. Hall said.
Said D. Linn Felt, another board member: ``As I understand it, his position was eliminated in downsizing and now the acting superintendent and the board feel we're very short in the finance section and we need him back. Dr. Pughsley feels he was the best qualified, and we support that.''
Not everyone agreed with the decision, however.
City Council member Harold Heischober said, ``Until further explained, it would certainly indicate that they intend not to consolidate.
``I don't know whether we're looking at rebellion or whether they're just telling us to go jump in the lake,'' he said.
Council member Nancy K. Parker said she doesn't understand why the district would spend money to hire a new administrator while simultaneously making budget cuts that affect the classroom.
The 1995-96 cuts have affected a broad range of programs and services - from Saturday detention to school bus purchases. On Tuesday, the board also approved measures that will likely result in fewer student field trips and require some administrators to substitute for absent teachers. MEMO: Staff writers Marc Davis and Karen Weintraub contributed to this
report.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD by CNB