ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
In an effort to settle his dispute with the Roanoke School Board, former Superintendent Frank Tota has agreed to do more work and supply additional information on potential grants for Roanoke's magnet schools.
In return, Tota might get his full $35,000 annual consulting fee from the board without a court fight.
Board Chairman Nelson Harris said Tuesday that Tota will provide the names of "bona fide funding sources" that would seriously consider offering grants to the city in the range of $100,000 or more.
The former superintendent also will arrange meetings between potential funding sources and representatives of city schools, Harris said. The meetings are expected to take place in the next couple of months.
The School Board is seeking funding sources for magnet schools because federal grants for them are being reduced as a result of federal budget cutbacks.
Magnet schools are federally funded programs designed to promote voluntary desegregation in Roanoke through innovative programming. Magnet schools are organized around a theme, such as space travel, and have the latest in educational technology. The goal is to attract white students to schools with a high percentage of black students.
Tota's seven-year early retirement contract required him to work initially on funding and other issues related to magnet schools. He helped win almost $17 million in federal magnet grants during his 12 years as superintendent.
The board paid Tota the full $35,000 fee for his first consultant report in 1994, but his 18-page report for 1995 initially was returned to him because it was in handwritten form. Tota said he did not realize that was an issue; he assumed a city school employee would type the report. His 1994 report also was handwritten, but it was not returned to him.
After the 1995 report was typed, the board offered to pay Tota one-third of the annual fee. It said his consultant's report was unsatisfactory because he had not done enough research.
Tota hinted earlier he might go to court to seek his full fee. He has suggested that the board rejected the report for political reasons. But board members said the issue was a contractual obligation to provide a well-researched report.
Tota, now superintendent in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., took early retirement from the Roanoke position in 1993. Under his retirement contract, he is required to do consulting work for 160 hours a year - that's 20 days - to receive the $35,000 fee, which is based on 35 percent of his salary when he left.
The agreement requires him to work at least 12 days a year in Roanoke. Eight days can be spent outside Roanoke, but they cannot be in his New York office.
Harris said the board will not give Tota an assignment for the third year until he completes the additional work and provides more information for the second year. Work assignments are determined by mutual agreement between the board and Tota.
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