Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 12, 1993 TAG: 9309110013
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
Instead, the new superintendent of Floyd County schools has been feverishly filling school personnel vacancies and pulling long hours.
Arbogast, 47, replaced Omar Ross as Floyd County's school chief on July 1.
But when the Pennsylvania native played basketball for Bridgewater College in the mid-to-late '60s, he planned to be a dentist.
However, when the dental school wanted him to take two more chemistry courses, "Five of us got into a car and drove over to Stanardsville and were offered teaching positions. This was in 1968. I wound up teaching biology and was the football and basketball coach," recalled Arbogast.
His three years in the Greene County system were a prelude to a 22-year stint in Fauquier County, where Arbogast was a high-school principal and assistant superintendent. While in Greene County he earned a master's degree in administration and supervision from the University of Virginia.
"In Fauquier I oversaw all personnel matters, budget, finance, procurement, the maintenance operation and food services," Arbogast said. The Fauquier system had 8,600 children and a $44 million budget during Arbogast's last year.
Copper Hill resident Bill Munzing, who was chairman of the Floyd County School Board during the search for Ross' replacement, said the board considered more than 20 applicants for the post. But once they saw Arbogast's resume, it was no contest.
"He was absolutely the best candidate," said Munzing, who heads a Roanoke insurance agency.
"He's a strong leader, and he's not going to be intimidated, manipulated or influenced by any member of the political community that wants to get their way with him. He believes in making people accountable.
"And he's a very enthusiastic individual, and that enthusiasm has already filtered down through the system in Floyd."
Arbogast says one of his strengths is his ability to communicate his vision. Acknowledging that the education profession is under serious attack in America, he advocates going on the offensive.
"We have not developed a strong enough pro-active approach - we have allowed ourselves to be reactive. But people are down on what they're not up on. We haven't educated them on what we're doing and why we're doing it."
For that reason, Arbogast says, he plans to "let people know what we're doing, and why, in Floyd County and open things up so they understand and can develop a chain of communication with the community and staff."
Arbogast was studiously non-committal about one educational issue in Virginia, elected school boards. Floyd County will have the matter on the ballot this fall.
"I would prefer not to comment on that, to tell you the truth. It's hard for me to say whether [elected school boards] is a good or a bad idea. That's a political decision. I will work with whoever is the representative and I will give my 125 percent to whoever," Arbogast said.
On another hotly contested issue, Arbogast says he is in favor of "world-class education," the proposed Virginia implementation of what has become known as outcome-based education. The concept has received sharp criticism from some education critics.
"I think . . . there are quite a few states who have had a demonstrable success with this idea," Arbogast said.
"For too long we have not been able to measure. You have to base your testing on what your expectations and outcomes are - the two have to be related."
Arbogast said Fauquier County was "moving in this direction" when he left. The county was designing a testing program last year.
At least one member of the Floyd County School Board is not as enthusiastic about the concept as Arbogast. "Outcome-based education? I'm very much opposed to it," said Munzing.
Fauquier County is a largely upper-middle-class bedroom community for Northern Virginia and Washington, and Arbogast says he is pleased by the rural contrast offered by his new job.
"There are a lot of warm and genuine people in the school community. I've gotten a warm response and a lot of support from them and the business community. It was part of what enticed me to come."
Arbogast worked long hours during his first weeks, filling job vacancies. He hired a preschool teacher, a fifth-grade teacher, a French teacher and a high-school math teacher, and interviewed candidates for a high school assistant principal and instructional coordinator.
Arbogast's wife, Dill, worked for 19 years as a teacher's aide in Fauquier County, but Virginia law will prevent her from working in the Floyd County school system. The couple's 25-year-old son teaches math in Fauquier County, and their 22-year-old son manages three frozen yogurt stores in Boca Raton, Fla.
by CNB