ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 24, 1996 TAG: 9608260021
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RINER
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
Keith Rowland, the principal at Riner Elementary School, has withdrawn his application to remain principal when the new elementary school serving Bethel and Riner opens in two years.
"I hope that this will finally bring some closure to what's been a real tough issue for this community," Rowland said.
But a concerned parent as well as the president of the school's Parent Teacher Association say Rowland's withdrawal might not be enough to stop parents from fighting for him.
Rowland was one of five applicants for the position. But a selection committee chose Jeff Perry, principal at Bethel Elementary School, to head the new elementary school.
More than 50 Riner parents showed up at this week's meeting of the Montgomery County School Board, hoping to persuade the members to override the committee's recommendation and appoint Rowland. But the contingent didn't get to speak because there was no public comment period.
Rowland withdrew his name Wednesday after meeting with Superintendent Herman Bartlett, saying he wanted to put an end to a situation "only serving to divide the two communities" of Riner and Bethel.
"It was a tough thing to do," Rowland said. "Sometimes you have to do things that are not pleasant to you that are in the best interest of others."
Rowland will continue as principal at Riner Elementary School this year and expects to stay until the new school opens for the 1998-99 school year. He has been at the school for five years and previously was an assistant principal at Christiansburg High School. While he was not promised another position in the Montgomery County schools, he said he hoped a place could be found for him .
Rowland said he was concerned the divisiveness could interfere with excitement over a new school and with how well the pupils from Riner and Bethel will blend together, just as they do now in middle and high school.
He said he was sincere in his wish that the push for him to stay on be dropped.
PTA President Billy Aldridge and parent Jim Dangerfield said Rowland's action is characteristic of him.
"That's the way Keith is. That's why everybody's crazy about him," Aldridge said.
Both said there remains sentiment in the community not to accept what they see as a snub of Rowland, who was heavily involved in planning the new elementary school in Riner.
"There's divisiveness. And from what I've seen and heard from other parents, I can only see it getting worse," Dangerfield said Friday. He called Rowland's failure to be selected principal a "slap in the face to him and the community, too. And I don't think this will go away easily."
Aldridge, who was on the selection committee, said, "I, as PTA president - along with other parents - given the record Keith had, don't even understand why he had to apply for the position anyway."
Several of the 50 people who attended this week's School Board meeting have already signed up to speak at the Sept. 3 meeting. Now that Rowland has withdrawn his application, Dangerfield said, he wasn't sure whether people would still speak out.
Dangerfield praised Rowland for increasing test scores and attendance at the elementary school.
Both Aldridge and Dangerfield stressed that community support for Rowland shouldn't be construed as anything personally or professionally against Perry.
Rowland also cautioned, "I don't want people to not support Dr. Perry."
Perry, starting his third year as Bethel's principal, said Rowland called him to notify him of his withdrawal. "I think this will help to pull the two communities together ... so that the children will benefit," Perry said. He said he and Rowland were close friends and said Rowland had provided help and support to him when he became a principal.
The new Riner school has been a center of controversy for much of this year. The school will combine students from Riner and Bethel elementary schools. Many Bethel parents have protested closing what they view as an essential part of their community. That, plus the months of controversy over the purchase of 40 acres from a Riner farmer for the new school, has made the building process difficult for administrators and the School Board. The principal selection fuss now adds to the school's difficult beginning.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Rowland. color.by CNB