
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 20, 1994                   TAG: 9407200090
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EDUCATOR'S JOB IN BOSS'S HANDS

George Franklin's future with Roanoke's alternative education program apparently will hinge on the recommendation of the program's new administrator.

Michael McIntosh said he will review the budget, staff and other aspects of the alternative education operation after he arrives in Roanoke next week.

"I can't say who will be retained until after I have reviewed the situation and made recommendations to the assistant superintendent and superintendent," McIntosh said.

McIntosh has been the lead teacher in Danville's alternative education program, known as the Phoenix Opportunity School, which has succeeded in returning many troubled youths to regular classes, he said.

Superintendent Wayne Harris said McIntosh will bring a fresh perspective to Roanoke's program.

McIntosh said he was not familiar with the controversy surrounding Franklin's suspension for failing to comply with administrative and financial regulations for the program. The School Board overturned the four-day suspension.

Franklin has been director of alternative education for troubled youths, but the program is being revamped, and McIntosh has been hired to oversee it. McIntosh will replace Franklin's boss, William Hackley, who retired in June.

Franklin did not apply for the administrator's post because it requires a master's degree, which Franklin does not have. He has told school officials that he wants to be a teacher in the program without administrative or supervisory duties that would require him to report to the school system's central offices.

Franklin is one of nearly 30 staff members in the program. The staff members have been told that they will be notified by Aug. 4 whether they will have a job in the fall.

About 130 students usually attend one of three alternatives in the program: a regional program, drop-in academy later in the day for older students, or the city's regular program.

Harris also has hired Rebecca Sears, one of the three finalists for the administrator's post, to be the program's curriculum coordinator. Sears, a former college teacher, is a teacher in Giles County.

by CNB