Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9407080011
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Among the group's concerns were:
The perception that the superintendent uses divisive measures to accomplish his goals;
The School Board is not hearing the voices of parents and teachers of the county;
The superintendent does not listen to or respond to phone calls, letters or faxes.
And, most importantly, fear and intimidation are rampant among school personnel.
"This was a ground-swell meeting and what the [PTAs] were trying to say is they are very, very concerned that they are not being heard," said Regina Smith, the county's Council of PTAs president.
Vickers, however, defended Bartlett before the group, praising his budgeting ability and his vision for the future.
After the release of last month's climate survey, in which Bartlett received overall grades of D+, D- and F from principals, teachers and central office staff, Smith said she thought it would give School Board members reason to pause.
Instead, she said, rumors that the board planned to extend Bartlett's three-year contract and give him a raise have spread like wildfire among parents and teachers. This left PTA members scratching their heads.
"I look at the climate survey as a yearly evaluation, and on the basis of that, [Bartlett] did not get passing marks," Beth Brown, president of Blacksburg Middle School's PTA, told Vickers. "Given this criteria, it is not right to give him a raise or an upgrade."
Vickers said Thursday he had no knowledge of any upcoming discussion on Bartlett's contract, but that it was possible.
"All I know for sure is that it won't come from me," he said.
Other PTA members expressed their concern about the lack of communication and intimidation coming from the superintendent.
"We've got a very sound school system, and I don't like to see it destroyed," said Jim Johnson, co-chairman of the Focus 2006 Strategic Planning Commission and next year's PTSA president for Blacksburg High School. "Most of the principals have been taken to the woodshed for one reason or another, and communication is closed. I'd like to have a school system where, when he stood up, we weren't embarrassed by our superintendent."
Johnson said communications must improve on the administrative level. Johnson has written a letter to the editor to be published in Sunday's Current on the lack of communication between Bartlett and a group of students. The students believed the superintendent made negative remarks about one of their teachers. Bartlett said he didn't.
"I'm a retired public administrator," Johnson said. "But my feeling has always been that perceptions are real." Barlett's job as an administrator is to address those perceptions, Johnson said.
Vickers said Thursday he probably would not have attended the meeting if he had known it was going to be made public.
"I don't believe this is newsworthy," he said. "I violated common sense in attending this meeting. I do want to communicate with the PTAs and it appears that our ways of communication have been flawed. I am going to re-evaluate the rules between the PTAs and the School Board."
Vickers said as far as he was concerned the only reason for him to attend the meeting was to discuss his voting record.
PTA members Wednesday criticized Vickers for continually voting against the wishes of Blacksburg residents even though he represents the town on the School Board.
"I wish he would vote the way we think because he is our representative," said New River Valley PTA district director Kimberle Badinelli.
But, she said, Vickers' voting record was not the focus of the meeting.
She and the rest of the PTA members, Badinelli said, just want Vickers to listen.
"We are a community and we are united," she said. "I don't know if [Vickers] understood how completely serious we were, but we are a voice and we feel we must be listened to."
by CNB