ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 17, 1996 TAG: 9610170021
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
Come July 1, Montgomery County School Superintendent Herman Bartlett will be out of a job.
In a subdued, late-night decision Tuesday, the School Board voted 8-1 to begin a search to replace Herman Bartlett. David Moore was the only member to vote no.
Since Bartlett came three years ago, controversy and criticism have accompanied his tenure. While some have praised his efforts to direct the school system in curriculum and school-building plans, others have described his people skills as intimidating and his style as controlling.
Four months ago, the board narrowly defeated a two-year extension of Bartlett's contract, which ends in June. That left open the possibility the board could consider other contract extensions. But Tuesday, the board chose to begin a search rather than approve any extension.
At almost every meeting since its decision, the board has met behind closed doors to deliberate the matter. The stalemate ended with Tuesday's decision, said member Roy Vickers, but it didn't change the number of supporters for Bartlett.
"The vote was still 5-4 and it stayed that way last night," he said Wednesday, referring to June's split vote not to extend his contract. "It's just that the majority of the board felt that it was time to quit sitting on the fence."
Bartlett said Wednesday no board members ever approached him with any contract options. He also said he wished the board had been more expeditious in its decision.
Some of the decision, he said, had more to do with politics and less with ability. Four of the board members were elected last year rather than appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Three will face an election next year.
School Board members are working for a completely different constituency now that the people elect them, said B.J. Mullins, the former Montgomery County Education Association president.
Mullins served as the head of the teachers' association when it released a climate survey during Bartlett's first year in charge. The teachers responding gave Bartlett a D+ for his performance.
Bartlett conceded he might have come on too strong at first.
"One of the problems is that when things are done so quickly, if you're overzealous, you outrun people," he said. "It tends to make people nervous."
Bartlett did become less prominent as a spokesman for the School Board, especially when Annette Perkins was elected chairwoman at the beginning of this year. Perkins, a long-time board member and frequent critic of Bartlett, replaced the superintendent when dealing with the Board of Supervisors on most matters.
Still, he managed to anger several groups recently, said Jim Johnson, president of the county council of PTA's.
"He just pushed the wrong buttons with the wrong School Board members. Otherwise, he likely would have survived," he said.
Johnson pointed to the selection of a principal for the new elementary school in Riner under construction. Some parents criticized the selection process, which Bartlett headed.
Barry Worth, who represents the area, was told by several parents he wouldn't be elected for another term because he supported the superintendent's recommendation.
Bartlett "created himself a very huge problem" with that decision, said parent Hugh Veit. "That alone was enough to create a mistrust for most of the community."
But the fault is not all Bartlett's, said PTA representative Regina Smith. The School Board failed to give him direction, she said, and failed to ask him to change his behavior.
"When the climate survey came back they gave him an extension on his contract and a raise in pay," she said. "What kind of message does that send?"
In the last 20 years, only one superintendent has made it through more than one full contract in Montgomery County. In the mid-1980s, the system went through four superintendents in five years.
That record makes it difficult for any one to succeed, said friend Ann Rhudy, who grew up with Bartlett in Galax.
"You have to have a strong person that's focused on what need to be done, regardless of [various demands]," she said. "He went on and did what was best for the school system." Rhudy and others said Bartlett's strong point was in long-term planning.
Veit said he appreciated Bartlett's efforts to build new schools for the entire county, rather than forcing areas to vie for construction funds.
"He had a strategy. I would give him an 'A' for trying to get people together on this," Veit said.
At 52, Bartlett said he has no plans to retire.
"I enjoy what I do. It's a calling for me," he said. "I don't know how to stop all at once."
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Bartlett.by CNB