THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603160368
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Charlise Lyles
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Oooooh. I hope Court TV covers the trial gavel to gavel.
Will the ``Virginia Beach Two'' take the stand?
What verdict will the jury render?
It'll give O.J. addicts a reason to live again.
Commonwealth's Attorney Robert J. Humphreys' threat to seven School Board members to resign or be prosecuted on malfeasance charges in the district's $12.1 million budget debacle pushed five members out.
But not Tim Jackson and Ferdinand V. Tolentino. Hey, with a name like Ferdinand, you just can't go around bowing to every measly threat.
Since Jackson and Tolentino took their stand, all kinds of court scenarios have played out in my head. Like this one.
Humphreys: You mean to tell me that as a lay School Board member, you relied on the judgment of highly paid professional administrators to guide your decision making? Didn't you know any better?
Tolentino: Well, no. That was the only source of data we had, sir.
Or how about this?
Humphreys: You mean to tell me that you never suspected that former school superintendent Sidney L. Faucette was an unenlightened despot who surrounded himself with ``yes'' men to fulfill his fiscal fantasies?
Jackson: I never had a clue. He seemed like a nice guy.
I've even imagined the prosecutor himself on the stand.
Judge: And just where do you as a prosecutor get off threatening the first elected School Board in the city's history? I thought your job is to prosecute, not to threaten folks who were just trying their best to serve their city. Humphreys, this reeks of pure posturing. At the rate you're going, you'll never end up sitting where I am, buddy.
Humphreys: Well, your honor, I was just trying to look ahead . . . to the 1997 election. Gee, I thought you'd be proud of me, showcasing the prowess of my office, using tough, nasty language. I'm sorry, your honor. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?
Judge: Well, I don't know. Maybe you just ought to resign or we'll throw the book at you for criminal cowardice.
That's the scenario least likely to happen. But it's one I'd love to see. Humphreys' threat to the seven School Board members seems entirely inappropriate. A prosecutor ought to prosecute. Period.
As for the School Board Seven. Set them free.
They've suffered enough humiliation and anguish over the whole debacle. Are they really to blame for trusting information given them by city-employed experts? City councils and planning commissions throughout the region rely heavily on the expertise and integrity of a professional staff guided by a reliable manager. School boards are no different and citizens don't expect them to be.
And I'm willing to forgive the Seven for reinstating the director of budget development, Mordecai L. Smith, before the special grand jury concluded its investigation. But I have to say, that was one helluva stupid move.
One final scenario I'd love to see: budget-man Smith and former Superintendent Faucette on the witness stand facing malfeasance charges. After all, both are the bottom line on the system's $12.1 million deficit.
Like Ricky used to tell Lucy, they've ``got some 'splaining to do.'' In court. by CNB